ALIEN: HARD-HEADS
by Anguirus1955
Summary: On the moon of Taros, the crew of mining station #04 have just discovered something buried deep within the moon, something ancient. Something... alien.
1. LIFE ON TAROS

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

Funclaimer: The Xenomorph is considered to be the property of Weyland-Yutani.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 01: LIFE ON TAROS**

* * *

 **DATE: JULY 14th, 2137**

 **BRANDY-IRON INDUSTRIES MINING STATION TAROS #04, CONTRACTED BY WEYLAND-YUTANI FOR 18-MONTH TOUR, MOON OF TAROS, IN ORBIT AROUND COLONY-WORLD LV-197 AKA "PLANET DALIA", CASPRON PLANETARY SYSTEM, OUTER VIEL REGION**

Inside the operations room of Taros Station #04, Operations Director Fred Marcus looked at a read-out on a computer screen. Fred Marcus was a man in his mid-forties, with brown combed hair and a mustache. He wore the standard uniform of an operations director from the Brandy-Iron company, including grey overalls and a hat with a picture of a cartoon moon and a drill-bit on it.

Marcus picked up his coffee mug from its holder in his chair and slowly took a sip of his beverage as he looked at the information on the screen, before using his free hand to access the keyboard and track-ball mouse to open another file, one that held several geology documents and reports. Using the mouse, he dragged the read-out to one side of the screen before double-clicking on the relevant report and opening it up. He then dragged it and re-sized it enough to fit the screen as he looked back and forth between the most recent read-out from the mine's most recent survey and compared the data with what was in the document.

Sitting at a computer terminal on the far side of the room, Chief Communications Operator John Martin was sleeping in his chair. Marcus ignored the man's snores for the time being, as there hadn't been much chatter between the other mining stations on the moon for a while, at least not since one miner at Taros Station #05 had gone stir crazy and thrown himself out of an airlock three months earlier due to the gas mixtures in his work suit not being checked properly for a month. That had been the only incident reported at any station for three months so far. Otherwise, things were relatively peaceful and, in the opinions of the main staff, boring.

 **INSIDE THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE**

Dressed in a grey cargo-pant variation of the standard Brandy-Iron uniform, along with a dark brown flight jacket and a cowboy hat resting on her neck, Alexandra "Alex" Burns let out a sigh as she leaned back in the pilot seat of the main cargo transport's cockpit. Reaching down to her side, she opened an access panel on the floor and pulled out a cooler, setting it to the side before opening it up and pulling out a bottle of whiskey. She lifted the bottle up as she reached over to the other seat and pressed the PLAY button on her antique media player, starting up the CD inside and playing a selected playlist of music.

Burns began nodding her head to the music as she took a sip of her drink. " _I'm not talkin' 'bout movin' in. And I don't wanna change your life. But there's a warm wind blowin' the stars around._ " "And I'd really love to see you tonight!" Burns sang along. Meanwhile, on one of the terminals in front of her, a loading screen with a large green progress bar showed how much time was left before the transport's onboard computer system finished its self-diagnostics run.

 **THE GALLEY**

Ten miners sat around at various tables, having just come back from their shift. The second group of miners had just gone out on the next shift, and so the ten men and women inside the galley were now enjoying their after-work meal. Lining the walls of the galley were several automated food dispensers. Larger facilities with bigger crews and budgets often had an actual cooking staff, while Station #04 was a more modest facility with a crew of just 30 miners and 15 directorial staff, including 4 security officers, the operations director, 2 pilots for transports, a company meteorologist, a company geologist, two physicians, a communications operator, and 3 mechanical engineers or designated maintenance workers.

Much of the bulk work was done by several large drilling machines, piloted and maintained by the miners and the maintenance workers. Larger facilities with larger budgets also had automated machines for mining as well, but they also had more miners to work in areas that the machines were too large and bulky to safely operate inside of until after the miners had cleared them out. The Brandy-Iron company prided itself on rewarding skilled manual labor and remote machine operation equally, touting that its people recognized the values of both worlds.

Unfortunately, while Brandy-Iron had been a giant in the manufacturing of machinery and mining, its biggest competitor, Weyland-Yutani, was quickly gaining ground in that area as well. Unlike Brandy-Iron, Weyland-Yutani was a behemoth, tackling almost all venues from which profit could be drawn, meaning that specialized companies such as Brandy-Iron, Seegson, and others were finding themselves looking at a bleak future. While some companies, such as Seegson, chose to directly compete with Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had chosen the route of selective contractual negotiation with Weyland-Yutani in order to work in similar places while still producing its own product.

As Brandy-Iron had already begun making progress in the Caspron System prior to any arrival or influence from other companies, they were in prime condition to negotiate on their own terms with Weyland-Yutani. All of the equipment and people working on the Taros facilities were from Brandy-Iron, with Weyland-Yutani's only contributions being the paychecks for the materials mined and delivered by Brandy-Iron on the moon and other celestial bodies in the system, and the occasional corporate liaison. The situation was an extremely uncommon inversion of what was seen elsewhere in colonized space, as Weyland-Yutani usually held the upper hand.

As such, all of the miners on the moon of Taros felt relatively safe and comfortable with their jobs, at least as safe as one _could_ feel given the nature of their job. And, unlike Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had a record of always fixing problems found by safety inspectors, even if that meant spending money on something. ' _Workers who know that their employer cares about them won't try to leave for another company_ ,' was the motto often found being espoused by various corporate suits within the company. It was well-known among other companies that Weyland-Yutani often would bribe safety inspectors instead of fixing problems with some of their ships and equipment, especially commercial vessels used for dirty jobs, such as commercial towing ships.

One notable incident, albeit one without any verifiable evidence, occurred in 2122, when a commercial towing ship and an ore refinery disappeared. When inspection materials were found and investigated back on the colony of Thedus, reports made by members of the ship's crew and various inspectors revealed a number of alarming discrepancies in official safety reports, leading most people to believe that the ship was destroyed by a malfunction with the engines, which in turn could have affected the refinery it was towing. While there was no official evidence to support this claim, many people in rival companies used this as an example to shame their competition and make their own employees less willing to leave them for Weyland-Yutani, citing the shrewd and obvious profit-over-people mentality as something to avoid.

Currently, the first shift miners were enjoying their food while the second shift went out to resume their work. When they finished, they would enjoy some personal time. After that, they would head to their bunks and catch several hours of sleep before they would need to begin all over again.

 **THE RECREATION ROOM**

Standing on one side of a pool table, Head Mechanical Engineer Edgar Rains prepared his cue as he lined up his next shot. "Come on. Just hit the ball already," his assistant, Milo Thurgood, said impatiently. Rains scoffed at Milo's attitude. "Patience, Milo. Patience," Rains said as he carefully prepared to tap the ball with his cue.

Edgar Rains was a man of rather modest musculature and build, standing at 5 feet and 4 inches, with a shaved head, brown eyes, and an earring in his left ear. Milo Thurgood was a very lanky man with curly brown hair, stood at 5 feet and 10 inches, and an entire portion of his upper jaw replaced with dentures. Both men had worked together in the Brandy-Iron company for seven years. Rains was in his forties, while Milo was in his mid-thirties.

Sitting around a circular table near a corner of the room, three people sat around with cards. Vernon Shore, the secondary transport pilot; Samantha Goodwin, the Chief of Security for the station; and Carl Brooks, a company geologist. All three of these people were enjoying a card game while they bided their time for something interesting to happen, as the station had not seen anything exciting happen for months.

 **THE MEDICAL LAB**

Chief Medical Officer and Physician Elliot Yulan sat at a computer terminal and looked over the latest test results for the miners as he prepared to add the data to the medical charts in the station's employee medical database. Sleeping on a cot behind him was an injured miner, Jeff Green, who had broken his several hours earlier after slipping on a wet floor. He performed his task rather quietly, very softly humming a tune to himself as he worked, trying not to disturb the sleeping patient behind him.

Elliot Yulan stood at 5 feet and 6 inches in height, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was of average build, and he kept his hair short. He wore the standard Brandy-Iron staff uniform, along with a physician's coat whenever he was on duty.

 **THE MINERS QUARTERS**

Nine miners were sleeping in their bunks, with their alarm clocks getting ready to go off in less than two hours time so that they could prepare for the third shift.

 **LOCKER ROOM & SHOWER BLOCK A-1**

Anna Torres, the main electronics engineer and computer maintenance worker, was cleaning herself off after fixing the electrical wiring inside a dirty maintenance duct.

* * *

 **MINE SHAFT C, TUNNEL C-03**

A large machine with a drill attached to it moved slowly forward, penetrating the rock in front of it. Dozens of sensors were attached to the machine, and each one sent a relay signal to the computer systems in the station as there were also network nodes spaced apart through the mines for the connections to the machines and the computers. Inside the machine was an empty cabin with an airlock door connecting it to the harsh inhospitable atmosphere of the mine. The cabin was a maintenance cabin with a computer terminal and control panel that would allow for manual interaction with the machine if remote controls failed to work.

Some yards back, near the junction between tunnels C-03, C-02, and C-01, an air station had been set up, consisting of a folding bench and several air canisters with hoses that would be connected to work suits. There were also crates of tools and some light rods along the interior and perimeter. The junction connected to a large tunnel that led back to the main elevator, which was connected to each mining level, and the main station.

As the green lights on the machine near the sensors held steady, the drill's computer system automatically adjusted itself as it neared the end of the estimated depth it had been programmed to work through. The large series of drill bits spun rapidly and smoothly, until an unexpected acquaintance between drill bit and unknown material occurred. The green lights began flashing red, and the drill's control system sent a signal to the remote operation controls, before slowing its drill bits to a halt.

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

Marcus looked over at the computer screen as an error message flashed on and off, along with an annoying chime from the built-in speakers. "What the hell?" he asked rhetorically, glancing over at Martin, who was still sleeping. "Martin. Martin!" Marcus shouted, waking the man. "Huh, what?" John Martin asked groggily and confusedly.

"John, call Brooks on the paging system. I don't know where he's at right now," Marcus said as he made his way over to the remote control terminal. He pulled out a chair and sat down before pulling himself in towards the keyboard, accessing the controls for the drill. "Wait, what am I calling him for?" Martin asked him.

"One of the drills just stopped, and he's responsible for charting the drill paths. I need to ask him a few questions," Marcus replied. "Which drill?" Martin asked him. "Mine shaft 'Cee' and tunnel... come on... tunnel number three," Marcus said. "What about Eastman? He's a field shift manager," Martin asked, referring to Bill Eastman, one of the senior miners. "Call him too, then," Marcus replied snappily as he clicked on the error message box and read the contents of the message held within.

"Unknown substance? Did we just find something new... or are the sensors malfunctioning?" Marcus asked himself. The onboard computers of the drills held a small database containing a periodic table of known elements, and the computers were connected to the sensors on the drills. "Martin, I don't hear you making an announcement," Marcus said.

"Attention, will Mister Carl Brooks and Shift Field Leader Bill Eastman please report to the operations center as soon as possible? Thank you," Martin said, pressing a repeat button on the comm system so that his words were relayed twice throughout the station. "Okay, now we wait," Martin said tiredly.

A few minutes later, Carl Brooks entered the operations center. Brooks was a man of average stature, standing at 5 feet and three inches, with short black hair and glasses, although he sometimes wore contacts. He wore a sky blue variation of the company uniform, along with the cap. "You, uh, called?" Brooks asked with some trepidation in his voice.

"Yeah, get over here and look at this," Marcus said, gesturing for Brooks to walk over to the computer terminal housing the remote controls for the drill. Brooks looked over the data on the screen with a raised eyebrow. "That can't be right," Brooks said. "Really? You're the one who did the _comprehensive_ survey and said it was okay to use the heavy machinery," Marcus said in an annoyed, tone.

Bring up the data I gave you for that section. I wanna see how far into that area the drill is right now," Brooks requested. "Be my guest," Marcus said as he got out of the chair and pulled it back for Brooks to sit down. "Well? Git 'er done," Marcus said as Brooks stared at him questioningly. Brooks got in the chair and pulled up to the keyboard.

After a couple of minutes, he sat back and frowned. "The drill went half a meter deeper than the survey had gone. That's why we didn't realize what was there," Brooks surmised. "Wait, what? Shouldn't there have been some kind of... I don't know, intermittent layer of stuff for the drill to hit before reaching the solid... whatever this is?" Marcus asked him.

"It depends on the type of rock, but this... I don't think this is rock," Brooks said. "You don't?" Marcus asked him. "No," Brooks replied as he looked at the data compiled by the sensors on the drill. The further down the list of elements detected he went, the more confused he became. "This... I don't think we hit something natural," Brooks said.

Marcus blinked at him in confusion. "Eh?" Marcus asked him. "I said... we may have found something new," Brooks said. "Define 'new' for me," Marcus requested. "Well... I want to run the sensor list through a heuristic test environment on a computer to see how these materials may react to the atmosphere of the moon before going any further. Then, if it seems safe, we'll keep drilling and see how far we can go," Brooks said.

"Right. What if this is connected to some kind of... volcanic system or something? What if we're digging too deep and we hit something unstable?" Marcus asked him. "That's why I want to perform a heuristic test on a computer first," Brooks said. "A what?" Marcus asked him. "A simulation. I want to run a simulation of the material interacting with the chemical components of the moon's atmosphere through a computer in order to determine what could happen," Brooks clarified.

"Oh. Well... sure. Go right ahead," Marcus said. "I'm in no hurry to blow myself by accident," he added as he walked over towards the communication system for the miners. "Attention, all field staff in the mine shafts, please report back to home base at once. Please report back to home base at once. A drill in tunnel three on level 'Cee' has encountered a problem and we want all personnel accounted for while we handle things. Over," Marcus said before hitting the repeat button.

"Yeah, that ought to do it," Martin snarked from his chair. "Well, if you can do better, then go ahead," Marcus said to him. Martin grumbled under his breath and turned away. "That's what I thought," Marcus said pointedly before walking away.

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER, SEVERAL HOURS LATER...**

Looking around at the people who had gathered in the room, all of whom were main staff and a few miners, Marcus cleared his throat. "Okay, people. It's been several hours, and you're all probably wondering why I've called you here," Marcus said.

Burns rolled her eyes, but otherwise kept silent. "We're getting raises?" Vernon asked humorously. "Well, that's the thing. Brooks here has run some simulations based on what the drill sensors have detected, and it appears to be safe for us to keep drilling through this... new material. It doesn't appear to be rock, but it isn't exactly volatile either, at least according to Brooks," Marcus explained.

"So, do we use the machinery, or do we send people inside?" Bill Eastman asked. Eastman had a short trimmed black beard and a receding hairline. He was in his late forties and also had a degree in geology and engineering, making him the de-facto leader for any miners working with him. He answered only to Fred Marcus and Elliot Yulan, who also would take over as a secondary operations director when Marcus was unavailable or asleep.

"For now, we'll use the big drills to make a path, stopping every meter or so to let the sensors search for anything new, before we send in the miners and have them clear the tunnel to make more room. We'll do this slowly, and when we've drilled far enough and collected enough of the material, we'll study it further and then try contacting Weyland-Yutani to discuss what this means for our pay under the contract," Marcus said slowly and carefully, making sure that no one misheard anything and jumped to conclusions.

"So, does that mean we have to collect samples?" Eastman asked him. "Yes," Brooks said in affirmation. "Okay, when do we start?" another miner asked him. "In one hour," Marcus said in response. "Which shift covers this?" asked another miner. "Yeah, our shift was pulled early, so... what does that mean for us?" asked Vince Hoffman, a miner from second shift.

"Third shift will cover it," Marcus said. "What about second shift's pay? We were brought back early," Hoffman asked. "I remember telling you to punch out when your shift was scheduled to end," Marcus said. "Right," Hoffman said sheepishly. "Okay, any other questions?" Marcus asked as he looked around the room. Everyone shook their heads. "Alright, meeting is adjourned. Third shift, prepare to stand by," Marcus said before sending everyone on their way.

* * *

 **TWO HOURS LATER...**

The drill spun as it dug deeper into the new substance. The sounds of the spinning metal echoed through the tunnel as the drill moved steadily forward, until the drill finally broke through a wall and entered a hollow area. The sensors began sending signals to the computer to stop the drill bit and a signal was sent to the remote operation controls in the main facility, alerting the mining staff to the drill's status.

After drilling almost one and a half meters, the drill had broken into a large cavernous area, and the gases inside the hollow chamber were analyzed by the sensors and compiled into an electronic list that was quickly sent to the remote terminal. The drill was soon put on low power, and the miners were instructed to hold back for another hour as a precaution, as the mining staff read the compiled list of gases found in the chamber. Soon, they were given a new task, which was to clear away a large enough area to send in a series of probes, which would begin mapping the terrain inside the hollow chamber and collect data in a safe manner.

 **IN THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

"It's hollow," Brooks said in amazement. "Is that bad?" Marcus asked him. "Not necessarily, but... I may not be of much more use for you after the probes are prepared," Brooks replied in a thoughtful manner. "What the hell does that mean?" Marcus asked him.

"Can we access the drill's camera feed?" Brooks asked him. "Uh, sure, but you still haven't answered my question," Marcus replied. "I just wanna get more data before I give you an answer. I've got a feeling," Brooks said vaguely, leaving Marcus confused and frustrated as he walked over and accessed the drill's remote operation menu on the computer terminal, before finally accessing the onboard camera feed.

"Okay, I don't see anything," Brooks said as he looked at a small window on the screen that was pitch black, other than a slight green tint to the side. "Hold on, let me access the lights," Marcus said before activating the onboard light system to illuminate the area in front of the drill. "Can we move the drill back? The drill bit is in the way of the hole," Brooks requested.

"Sure," Marcus said as he pulled up a menu for the drill's wheels. "Let's hope no one left the elevator yet. I don't wanna run anybody over," Marcus said as he began backing up the machine to give the camera a better view of the hole. "Okay, you can stop," Brooks said.

"What do you make of it?" Marcus asked Brooks as he looked at the camera feed. "I'm not sure," Brooks said after a minute. "But... it doesn't look natural," the geologist added. "How can you tell?" Marcus asked him. "I wanna go down there and check it out in person," Brooks said. "Whoa, no. Let the miners go in there and get the probes put inside. Okay?" Marcus said, shooting down Brooks' request.

"Fine," Brooks said reluctantly before he pulled a chair over and sat down next to Marcus to look at the camera footage.

* * *

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

Looking at the holographic display in front of them, Marcus and Brooks watched as the layout began to take shape, showing several tunnels and corridors. This imagery was also being provided on a computer monitor nearby, albeit with a constantly turning 3D model instead of a steady projection. "I'll be damned," Brooks said as he watched more tunnels take shape as the probes moved deeper throughout the new structure.

"What the hell is it?" Burns asked as she sat in a chair nearby. "These tunnels are not natural formations," Brooks said, ignoring the pilot. "Okay, so... unnatural. Got'cha," Burns said dryly, annoyed that her question had been ignored.

"Burns, what are you doing in here?" Marcus asked the pilot. "Watching the light show," she said as she pointed to the holographic display table. "Have you finished running the diagnostics on the main transport yet?" Marcus asked her.

"I finished that hours ago," Burns replied. "Why didn't you tell me?" Marcus asked her in response. "You and Brooks were busy telling us about this... discovery of yours," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner. "Okay, so what did the diagnostic report say about the shuttle?" Marcus asked her.

"Oh, that? It needs a service tune-up at the end of the month, but it can still fly two more trips away and back before then," Burns replied. "Check in with Rains and Milo to see when they can get started," Marcus said. "Hey, I can do heavy lifting too," Burns protested. "Then you can join them. Now, what about the secondary transport? How's its diagnostics checkup coming along?" Marcus asked her.

"Um... I... haven't started that yet," Burns said sheepishly. "Then hop to it," Marcus said sternly, glaring at her. "Yes sir," Burns said before getting up from her seat and walking away, before stopping just at the precipice of the doorway. "Wait, can't Vernon handle the second shuttle?" Burns asked Marcus. "I asked _you_ to do it," Marcus said in response.

Burns sighed in frustration. "Yes, Fred. I'll get right on it," she said in a tired and mildly annoyed tone before exiting the room. Martin looked away from the door and back over to Marcus with a raised eyebrow. "What's up with her?" Martin asked Marcus.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Well, she _did_ have a point about Vernon. I mean, he _is_ the secondary pilot. _But_... I asked _her_ to do it, not him. She knows the rules around here," Marcus said in response. "Right. Always point out other options _after_ there's no turning back," Martin said wryly. "Shut up," Marcus said in annoyance, causing Martin to snicker.

Marcus turned to look at Brooks, who was still watching the holographic display. "So, Brooks... what do you think this is?" Marcus asked the geologist. Brooks remained silent as he watched the structure continue to be scanned and formed on the display. "Brooks?" Marcus asked him again. He walked over and put a hand on the geologist's shoulder, prompting the man to look at him in surprise.

"Sorry, sir. What did you want?" Brooks asked him. "What do you think this is?" Marcus asked him. "It's some kind of structure," Brooks replied. "Yes, but... you know, what _kind_ of structure?" Marcus asked him. "I don't know. We'll have to wait until the probes are finished scanning the interior before we can make any determinations about it," Brooks said.

"Okay. Well, do you think it's still safe for the miners to keep working in the other mine shafts while this is happening?" Marcus asked him. "I don't know. We should really wait until the scan is finished, because we don't know how large this thing actually is yet," Brooks replied.

"Right," Marcus said in agreement. "Well, I'll go let the workers know that. In the mean time... just, um, keep watching the light show," Marcus said as he made his way over to the door and left the room. "Where are you going?" Martin asked him. "I'm gonna go get Elliot and have him take over for a while. I'll brief the miners and then I'll get cleaned up and get some sleep," Marcus replied.

"Okay," Martin said before pulling his cap over his face and leaning back in his char. Marcus glared at the communications operator before walking out the doorway. Meanwhile, Brooks was still watching the slow progress of the probes as they continued scanning the interior of the structure.

* * *

 **DATE: JULY 15th, 2137**

Returning to the operations center, Marcus saw Elliot Yulan standing near the holographic display table, showing the completed scan of the structure. It was horseshoe-shaped, although the inner curve area was very straight and the apparent arms had a slight curve going upwards as they went out, and it had an odd texture to it on the outside and inside. "Is that it?" Marcus asked curiously as he stepped forward, holding a mug of coffee in his hands.

"Um, I believe so," Elliot said as he glanced over in Marcus's direction. "Is that some kind of... ship or something?" Marcus asked as he looked over the strange structure. "Possibly. I'm not entirely certain," Elliot replied in a thoughtful tone. "When did the scan finish?" Marcus asked him.

"Oh, about three hours ago," Elliot replied. "Huh. Alright, get ready to call everyone up here. We're going to start using gas probes to determine what kind of atmosphere is in that thing, and then we're gonna get ready to call Weyland-Yutani," Marcus said. Elliot nodded his head in response to his boss's orders. Elliot had foregone his physician's coat while taking over for Marcus, instead opting to simply wear his company uniform on its own, including the cap.

Looking over to the other side of the table, Marcus saw Brooks sitting in a chair with a blanket draped over his body, his eyes closed and his breathing even. "He's still here?" Marcus asked rhetorically. Elliot glanced over at Brooks and nodded his head. "Yep. I tried to get him to leave earlier, but he wouldn't budge. I had to give him a protein bar so that he wouldn't starve himself," Elliot said.

"Did he eat it?" Marcus asked him. "Mm, part of it," Elliot replied with a shrug. Looking back over at the communications terminal, Marcus saw that Martin was nowhere to be found. "I take it Martin went to his quarters?" Marcus asked. "Presumably," Elliot replied. Marcus raised an eyebrow at the response. "I told him to go get some sleep and he left. He didn't exactly _confirm_ where he was going," Elliot explained.

"Well... I guess you're dismissed for now," Marcus said. "Huh?" Elliot asked him. "Go check on Burns in the secondary transport shuttle and make sure that she's finished the diagnostic check-up on the shuttle," Marcus said. "Got it," Elliot replied before making his way out the door.

* * *

 **DATE: JULY 27th, 2137**

 **WEYLAND-YUTANI CORPORATE OFFICE, ORANGE BAY CITY, COLONY OF THEDUS, OUTER VIEL REGION**

Sitting in his chair, corporate executive Marvin Garfield re-read the report that had been sent to him from the contracted mining facility on Taros. Marvin Garfield was a man in his late forties, with sharp features on his face, short black hair, and a smug smile that would make even hardened killers unwilling to be in the same room as him. Garfield stood at 5 feet and 3 inches tall, and he possessed a ruthless cunning that made other executives wary of him.

Looking at the image of the structure found by the miners, Garfield sucked in a breath. The vessel in the report matched descriptions of other, similar vessels found and reported by various company teams in the past, although these were rarely found intact. Now, however, such a vessel had been found by a mining team... that wasn't owned by the company. This mean that there would have to be negotiations and legal work if he wanted to acquire the Engineer ship.

Engineer, the term that the late Doctor Elizabeth Shaw had used when describing the beings who she believed were responsible for humankind's evolution. Beings who Peter Weyland had hoped could give him immortality, and whose various artifacts had been left behind on different worlds, allowing the Weyland-Yutani corporation grow into its monolithic size as different relics were found and reverse engineered in secret by company scientists. Now, someone else had found one of their toys, and Marvin Garfield knew he had to act fast if he wanted to prevent another company from growing large enough to compete with Weyland-Yutani.

Looking over at the list of crew for the mining station that had found the ship, Garfield soon found the additional personnel section, eyeing the name of the Weyland-Yutani liaison who had been assigned to that moon, and who was currently still on Thedus until his next scheduled field check-up on Taros. "Trent Bowman," he said quietly to himself as he looked at the contact information provided by the sheet. Accessing his desktop computer, he quickly looked up the office's employee roster and searched for Trent Bowman, grinning when he found him.

Grabbing his desk phone, he quickly called up the office cubicle that Bowman occupied and waited for a response. " _Hello, this is Trent Bowman speaking,_ " the young man said as he picked up his desk phone. "Hello, Mister Bowman, this is Mister Garfield. I'm an executive here at the corporate office, and I'd like you to meet me in my office ASAP," Garfield said.

" _Well, I have a report that's due in-_ " "You can finish it later. I'll explain things if your supervisor throws a fit," Garfield said. " _Um, okay then. Uh, where is your office located?_ " Trent asked him. "The twenty-ninth floor, office number zero-two-nine-B. It'll have my name stenciled above it," Garfield said. " _Okay, I'll be right up,_ " Trent said nervously before hanging up the phone. Garfield placed the phone back in its holder and smiled to himself. He now had a way to get to the mining station.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Garfield asked. " _Uh, sir? It's me, Trent Bowman. You said you wanted to see me,_ " Trent said. "Yes, please come in," Garfield said, prompting Trent to open the door and enter the room. "Close the door behind you," Garfield said. Trent nodded his head and did as instructed.

"Please, take a seat," Garfield said, gesturing towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. Trent nodded his head and grabbed a chair before pulling it in front of Garfield's desk, nervously glancing around the room. "So, um, have I done something wrong, Mister Garfield?" Trent asked him. "No. Nothing wrong," Garfield replied.

"Oh. So, why did you want to see me?" Trent asked him. Trent Bowman was a very scrawny man and only stood around 4 feet and 5 inches in height. He was in his mid-twenties and had blond hair and brown eyes. "Yes, I just received a report from one of our contracted mining stations in the Caspron System. Taros Four, I believe," Garfield said.

"Oh, I know them. I'm a liaison between them and the company," Trent said. "That's why I wanted to see you," Garfield said. "Have you read the report that they've sent to us?" Garfield asked him abruptly. "Uh, yeah. I was actually-" "Good, then you know how important this is," Garfield said, cutting Trent off.

Trent opened his mouth to speak again. "Well, yes. They found a-" "It's very important that we make sure this is handled properly. How long have you been in the company?" Garfield asked Trent. "Um, about six years," Trent replied. "How long have you lived on Thedus?" Garfield asked him. "My whole life," Trent replied.

"How far away from our system is the Caspron system?" Garfield asked him. "Only about three weeks of travel at light speed, if you're leaving from the ridge of the system," Trent replied, having already taken two trips to the mining facility as a liaison. "And why does it take less time for messages between systems to arrive?" Garfield asked him. "Relay stations and relay satellites posted in orbit around various moons throughout each system, allowing signals to bounce from one to the next," Trent replied.

"Good. So, when will you be ready to leave?" Garfield asked him. "L-Leave? I still have to finish my report explaining what the miners sent to-wait, how did you get ahold of this report? _I'm_ the liaison," Trent asked him suspiciously. "I'm an executive, Mister Bowman. I have access to all servers in this office, and I am also above you in company rank. I've been in this company for twenty years, so I have a lot of connections to get what I want," Garfield said.

"Well, as soon as I finish typing up my own report, I'll be submitting a request to leave for the mine so that I can speak to the miners in person and see this thing for myself. I'll bring back photographs," Trent said. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but our company has a policy regarding any structures, signals, or other objects of possible intelligent origin. This _must_ be investigated, and as we both are aware of it, we both must go," Garfield said, stretching the truth to a degree, knowing that this policy was only made privy to company employees who were in certain departments, had reached certain positions within the company, or who asked about it for one reason or another.

"So, to make things short: I'm going with you to the mine. I want you to finish up your report by the time your shift ends, and then we'll prepare to leave tomorrow," Garfield said. "To-Tomorrow? I don't think that's enough time to submit a travel request _and_ get myself prepared for a trip, or to even book a flight," Trent protested.

Garfield smiled in response. "Don't worry. I'll have it all taken care of. Just let me know when the report is finished, and I'll get started on the other stuff," Garfield said. "Are you sure?" Trent asked him. Garfield's smile faltered only slightly. "Absolutely," he said, making Trent nervous. "Now, go back to your cubicle and finish your report. I'll start getting things ready ahead of time, so that we can get everything taken care of efficiently," Garfield said as Trent stood up.

"If you aren't an official liaison, will they let you go?" Trent asked him as he stopped in front of the door. "Mister Bowman, do not make me repeat myself," Garfield said coldly. "R-Right. I'll be going then," Trent said nervously as he opened the door, closing it quickly behind him as he left Garfield's office.

Garfield looked back at the report on his computer. He quickly set to work on preparing the necessary documents and travel requests, before he began searching for the earliest transport heading for the Caspron system and smiled to himself. Trent Bowman would probably receive a promotion for being the liaison attached to the miners who found the ship, but _he_ would be the one in charge of negotiations, and so _he_ would receive the big bonus... and perhaps even more.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hey, it's the first chapter of ALIEN: HARD-HEADS. I'm going to put this out there now: I prefer slow build up to horror stories, as opposed to fast action right away. Anyone who's read THE THING II: Hawke Station, will know what I mean.

Unlike my Zootopia stories, which I deliberately set after the movie to avoid conflicting with currently existing canon, this story is set in line with the ALIEN franchise canon, but is done in a way that does not interfere with established canon. I'll try to adhere as closely to canon as possible. That being said, the passage where I describe the "official" fate of the Nostromo as far as public awareness goes was done to show how it was covered up by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, or how I think they would try to cover it up, should anyone learn about the ship's disappearance.

Also, as with nearly all ALIEN works, both canon and fan-made, at least one named character is an android, but I won't say who it is until the next chapter.

So, the next chapter will have the corporate suits arriving at the moon of Taros. Until next week.


	2. CORPORATE OVERSIGHT

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 02: CORPORATE OVERSIGHT**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 2137**

 **USCSS BENTHIC, CURRENTLY DOCKED WITH MALVO SUPPLY STATION, ORBITING LV-197, CASPRON SYSTEM**

Trent Bowman slowly opened his eyes as he woke up from hypersleep. Slowly rising from the bedding inside the sleep capsule, he opened the compartment on the side and retrieved his garments. Looking around the large room he was in, Bowman remembered that he was inside a more lavish company ship than the commercial freighters he had used during his previous two trips to the mining station. The room had a sky blue coloration pattern to it, unlike the white interiors of the commercial vehicles.

Unlike the circular rooms of the commercial vessels, the hypersleep chamber of this vessel was large and rectangular. The hypersleep capsules were also arranged so that they were attached to the walls and facing inwards, instead of the circular outward-facing fashion of the commercial star freighters he'd become accustomed to during his previous two excursions. While the interior certainly had a more pleasant appearance than the commercial chamber, Bowman found himself favoring the commercial one, if only because he knew where things were located.

After getting out and slipping on his underwear, Bowman quickly finished dressing, putting on his pants, socks, undershirt, and company fatigues before slipping on some tennis shoes. He looked over at the other pods in the room, seeing that Garfield was still asleep in his capsule, while most of the other capsules had already opened, meaning that the rest of the crew was already awake. Bowman quickly made his way over to the infirmary, where he had always been ordered to arrive after hypersleep during his previous journeys.

Quietly walking through the corridors of the ship, Bowman followed the symbols on the walls as he approached the infirmary and walked inside. Sitting at a computer terminal was a synthetic, an old Walter Series model, who looked up at Bowman as he stepped inside. "Hello, Mister Bowman," the synthetic, who had been introduced to Bowman as Craig back before the ship had left Thedus, said to him with a smile. "I thought that you guys had all been replaced with A-Two models," Bowman said, before a shamed look appeared on his face. "Sorry. I'd been meaning to ask you before going into hypersleep, but I never quite had the chance," he said apologetically.

"Oh, it's... quite all right," Craig said. "To answer your question, however, no. Not all of us. It depends on where you go," he added.

"Besides, would you really trust a twitchy A-Two model over a reliable Walter-based model such as myself? Or perhaps one of those Working Joes made by Seegson?" Craig asked him. "Not really," Bowman replied to both, as he had seen Working Joes before at old refueling depots owned by Seegson on various locales on Thedus, and had found them to be quite disturbing in their appearance. They reminded him of walking crash-test dummies.

"Newer isn't always necessarily _better_ ," Craig said as he finished typing something into the computer. "So, what can I help you with?" Craig asked Bowman. "Well, during my previous trips out here, I'd been instructed to enter the infirmary for a checkup after exiting hypersleep," Bowman replied. "I see," Craig said with a smile as he stood up and faced Bowman. "Alright, let's begin."

* * *

 **LEVEL 06 A-SIDE LOBBY OF MALVO STATION**

Alexandra Burns looked around as various dock workers and Seegson Working Joes, who'd always creeped her out, handled various equipment across the room by the entrance to one of the cargo holds. There were safety rails separating the loading areas from the main lobby, along with a retractable safety glass door frame. Across from the bench she was sitting on, there was a small cafe, and next to that were a locked door to the station's security center and two bathroom entrances. Leaning back on the bench, Burns took out a data pad and checked the list of errands she'd been assigned for the day.

She had only one errand, which was to collect the two Weyland-Yutani corporate suits and transport them to Taros. After that, she'd be free since the transport shuttle would be scheduled for maintenance work afterwards, being dry-docked in the maintenance bay of the station. Stuffing her data pad back in her jacket, Burns let out a sigh as she waited for the WY employees to appear.

* * *

Inside the USCSS Benthic, Bowman sat down at the galley table with two other people as he slowly ate his breakfast, listening as foot steps echoed behind him. Turning his head, he saw Garfield slowly walking into the room, wearing a robe over his undergarments. "Good morning, Bowman," Garfield said as he walked over to the counter that held the coffee machine. Two other members of the ship's crew were also sitting down at the table, including the navigation officer and the ship's warrant officer.

"Morning? Are we going by standard time, or the main time of the-" "It's what you say after waking up," Garfield said tersely, cutting him off. "Of course," Bowman said before returning to his meal.

Garfield soon retrieved a breakfast packet and prepared it according to the instructions, adding the required amount of water to it before rummaging through the wares cabinet, searching for a utensil to stir it. Bowman glanced over at the already prepared food on the table, and briefly considered informing Garfield, but decided against it. The hiss of a door opening soon caught Bowman's attention, and he turned to see Craig entering the room, wearing the standard Weyland-Yutani crew uniform, with the Benthic's patch on the breast of the white vest and a green shirt underneath, along with white cargo pants and sneakers.

"Hello, Mister Garfield," Craig said politely. "Hello," Garfield said in response as he placed his food in the microwave oven and followed the instructions on the packet. "Is the food on the table not to your liking?" Craig asked him. "The what?" Garfield asked as he turned around.

"On the table. There's already food," Craig said. Garfield looked past him and saw the already set table, where Bowman and two others were eating. "Is there a reason you didn't tell me that things were already set up?" Garfield asked Bowman. "Uh... I thought you could see the table when you walked in here," Bowman replied after swallowing his food.

Garfield grunted indignantly before turning around to face the microwave as he waited for his meal to finish cooking. Meanwhile, Craig made his way around the room and over to the entrance corridor that led to the bridge. "I'll inform the captain that you're both awake now," Craig said just as he entered the corridor.

Sitting down at the table, Garfield looked over at the two other crew members, both women wearing the ship's uniforms, before glancing at Bowman. "So," Bowman began, "I take it you'll be want the miners to let us see the... object... in person?" Garfield nodded his head in response as he chewed his food. "They'll probably ask for a bonus," Bowman said.

"You just let me handle the negotiations," Garfield said before taking another bite of his breakfast. "Right," Bowman said. The rest of the meal passed quietly, and afterward, Garfield made his way back to the hypersleep chamber to fully dress himself.

When Garfield returned to the galley, he motioned for Bowman to follow him as he made his way to the ship's bridge. The ship's captain, Carmine Ruthers, was already having a discussion with Craig about the state of the ship's medical supplies. "And given the expiration dates on some of the supplies the last time I checked them, I think that we should perform another inventory check and see if there's anything we can get from the station before leaving," Craig said.

"Alright. That sounds fine. Go ahead and do it," Captain Ruthers said. Craig nodded his head. "Thank you, Captain," he said before walking away. Garfield and Bowman both watched as the synthetic exited the bridge. "So, problems with the Andy?" Garfield asked him, using and older, archaic term for synthetics.

"No. No problem," Ruthers said nonchalantly as he sat down in his seat in front of a control terminal, looking at the information on the screen before accessing the command menu with the keyboard and the track ball mouse built into the console arm. "So, you boys are gonna be staying on this moon for... what, a couple days or more?" Ruthers asked them.

"It depends," Garfield said. "Depends? On what exactly?" Ruthers asked him, glancing up from the screen to look at Garfield's face with scrutiny. "On negotiations with the mining staff. They've found something that may be of major financial significance, but because they are _contracted_ with us, and not owned by us, we have to negotiate with them," Bowman explained.

Garfield didn't say anything, but a look of annoyance briefly flashed across his face as Bowman spoke before he did. "Yes, as Mister Bowman has just explained," Garfield said, making sure to get his word in. Ruthers glanced between the two men before silently nodding his head in understanding. "Am I allowed to ask what was found, or is this a... need-to-know sort of situation?" Ruthers asked them.

"For now, I would suggest that you consider it to be a need-to-know type of situation," Garfield said promptly. Ruthers glanced away and nodded his head in understanding. "Well then, I guess we'll be docked here for a few days. You should have a relatively decent communication line with us from that moon, considering the number of relay satellites in this system," Ruthers spoke.

"Yes, but I booked you to bring us back to Thedus as well, so you'll be staying here until we say otherwise," Garfield said firmly, his gaze like a hawk as he looked into Ruthers' eyes. "Right. Whatever you say," Ruthers said with a slight hint of discomfort in his voice. "I'm glad that you understand," Garfield said with a smug smile. Ruthers merely nodded his head in agreement yet again.

"Well, I guess you'd better be on your way then," Ruthers said to the men, eager to get Garfield off of his bridge and away from his person. Garfield turned his gaze towards the exit before walking away, Bowman following him after sending an apologetic glance towards Captain Ruthers. When the two men finally left the bridge, Ruthers let out a sigh of relief. "Asshole," he muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Bowman and Garfield made their way through the ship before heading for the storage room where their light luggage had been stored. Bowman had packed very lightly, having included one spare set of clothes and a company issued personal hygiene travel kit, all contained within a single briefcase. Garfield had packed a little bit heavier, but still had brought only essentials with him as well, although he had brought a large suitcase instead of a smaller briefcase. The suitcase also had wheels on it and a handle.

As the two men retrieved their belongings and made their way through the corridors of the ship, Bowman occasionally glanced over at the suitcase, curious as to why Garfield would need such a large piece of equipment. He kept his thoughts to himself, though, and simply followed the older man through the ship as they neared the airlock where the Malvo's umbilical airlock had locked with the Benthic. As they got closer to the airlock, Bowman said Craig standing by the doors.

The android looked back over at them with a polite smile. "Hello there, gentlemen," Craig said with a friendly nod of his head. "Hey there, Craig. Are you, uh, coming with us?" Bowman asked, forgetting what he'd heard on the bridge earlier. "Um, not to the mining station, no. Although, I _will_ be accompanying you to the supply station," Craig responded. "What are you going there for?" Bowman asked him.

"I'll be seeing you off, and then I'll be purveying the supply station for possible supplies to purchase. Some of our supplies are in need of replacing," Craig explained. "Ah. Alright then," Bowman said in understanding. "Craig, if you could?" Garfield asked, cutting in as he gestured to the airlock controls. "Oh, yes. Of course," Craig said before he finished preparing the airlock.

The lights on the airlock door slowly changed from red to green, indicating that the airlock in the supply station had remotely synchronized itself with the Benthic's airlock. "And there we are," Craig said before opening the airlock doors and gesturing for Bowman and Garfield to enter first, following them in before closing the airlock doors behind him. After the interior door was shut, Craig took out a key and unlocked a cabinet on the wall, pulling three snap hooks out of a small plastic cupboard under a shelf and handing two of them to Bowman and Garfield.

"What are these for?" Garfield asked the synthetic. Bowman snickered at Garfield. "What? What's so funny?" Garfield asked the younger man. "You've never traveled in one of these before, have you?" Bowman asked him knowingly. "Of course I have," Garfield said, clearly bluffing. "Right," Bowman said disbelievingly with a snicker.

"So, do we have any ropes or harnesses to go with these?" Bowman asked Craig. "Um, I believe we have a line in here somewhere," Craig said before reaching into the cabinet again and retrieving a metal threaded cable. "Although, I believe that the station's umbilical already has one built into it," Bowman said. "Then why did you ask for one?" Craig asked him.

"Just a precaution," Bowman said with a smirk. "I see," Craig said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. Garfield merely sighed in frustration, glaring at Bowman. "Are you finished?" Garfield asked Bowman with a hint of agitation in his voice. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm finished," Bowman said.

Craig placed the cable back in the cabinet and closed it before locking it shut. He then opened the exterior airlock door. "Brace yourself," Bowman said to Garfield. Garfield simply glared at the younger man before stepping forward... and then shouting in surprise as he felt himself feeling lighter while moving forward. "D-Damn! He-Help, please?" Garfield cried out before Craig maneuvered himself along the interior umbilical line, holding onto the hook as he glided over and caught Garfield, pulling him to the side.

Bowman latched his hook onto another cable on the other side of the tunnel, holding his briefcase with one hand before steadying himself and pressing off with his feet. Bowman glided through the umbilical tunnel, feeling almost weightless the further away he got from the ship, before feeling almost totally unencumbered as he reached the middle of the tunnel. As he glided further towards the station, he slowly felt himself losing that sense of weightlessness, but only to a degree.

After reaching the airlock doors for the station, Bowman set his feet down and glanced back to watch as Craig helped Garfield along. Bowman smirked at the embarrassed Garfield as Craig brought him over to the airlock doors. Garfield glanced over at Bowman with a glare, narrowing his eyes at the younger employee. "Not a single word of this... to _anyone_ ," Garfield warned him. "Sure thing," Bowman said with a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

* * *

Walking through the corridors of the station, Bowman and Garfield soon came across the entrance to the A-Side Lobby. "Any idea who they sent to pick us up?" Garfield asked Bowman as he glanced around the lobby. Craig had abandoned the two men after entering the station, already taking off towards the supply depots located on the other side of the station.

Looking around, Bowman saw a familiar woman sitting on a bench with a familiar jacket and cowboy hat on her neck, along with a rolled-up sign on the floor next to her. She was busy looking at a data pad in her hands as Bowman made his way over to her. Garfield looked over at where Bowman was heading and quickly jogged over to get ahead of him.

Garfield reached the woman first, clearing his throat. "Ahem," he said. The woman kept her focus on her data pad, apparently ignoring him. "Ahem!" he said again, louder this time. The woman remained focused on her data pad. Bowman walked around behind her and looked over her shoulder to see that the woman was playing a puzzle game on the device.

Leaning over her shoulder, Bowman got a closer look at the game. "Check mate," he whispered into her ear. The woman visibly flinched, but otherwise remained seated. "Not you again," she said with a groan. "Yes, me again, Burns. I take it you missed me?" Bowman asked her in response as she saved her game and turned off the device.

"Well, even though my sybian broke a month ago... not quite yet," Burns replied dryly as she pocketed her data pad and stood up. Leaning down, Bowman picked up the rolled up sign that had been by the pilot's feet. He unrolled it and read the message on it. "Pick-up for Weyland-Yutani Liaison," Bowman said as he read the sign out loud. "I'm impressed. No profanity this time," Bowman said.

"You aren't on my shit-list anymore," Burns said before she looked at Garfield. "Who's this?" she asked him. "My name is Marvin Garfield," Garfield said. Burns held out a hand to shake, only for Garfield to give her his suitcase. "Thank you," Garfield said with a smile.

"Is there anything fragile in here?" Burns asked him. "No," Garfield said. "Oh," Burns said in disappointment before gently setting the suitcase on the floor. Bowman rolled his eyes at Burns' behavior.

"So, is there anything you need to take care of before we leave for the station?" Bowman asked Burns. "Well, since you're here, I need you to stay put so I can take a piss," Burns said before walking away, heading for the bathroom doors. Garfield stared off after her, furrowing his brows in consternation. "What's her service number?" Garfield asked with a dangerous undertone. "She's not Weyland-Yutani, Garfield. She's Brandy-Iron," Bowman said.

"So I can't bust her out of a job for this?" he asked in agitation. "No, and I'd suggest that you don't threaten her with legal action either," Bowman said. "Very well. So... what's a sybian?" Garfield asked him. Bowman's eyes widened briefly. "Well, a sybian... is a type of drilling tool used for special types of caverns," Bowman said with a straight face.

"I see. And she has one because she's part of the mining crew, despite being a pilot," Garfield said. "Yes, but if you really want to know more, ask her when she comes back. She knows more than I do, and it'd be a pretty good way to get on her good side," Bowman added.

"Really?" Garfield asked him. "Oh yeah. Get her in a conversation about the mining equipment or transport vehicles, and she'll forget all about any hostility. Just... don't mention anything about corporate oversight. She... doesn't take well to that," Bowman said. "Got it," Garfield said, nodding his head.

When Burns returned from the bathroom, she quickly made her way over to the two men and grabbed her sign, rolling it back up before stuffing it under her arm. "Alright, let's go," she said authoritatively. The trio quickly made their way over to the security checkpoint near the other side of the lobby before making their way to an elevator and heading down a level.

"So, Burns, was it?" Garfield asked the pilot as the elevator descended. "That's right," Burns replied, clearing her throat as she pulled her cowboy hat up onto her head. "What kind of caverns do the miners use sybians in?" Garfield asked her as the elevator came to a stop. Burns' eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock as she turned around to look at Garfield.

"What?" he asked her. Burns blinked at him in disbelief, before glancing over at the snickering Bowman. "What? What are you laughing for?" Garfield asked Bowman after hearing his snickers. "I don't believe you," Burns said to Bowman. "You are such a _child_ ," she added, chiding him.

"Wait, so just what exactly is a sybian?" Garfield asked, prompting Bowman to laugh out loud at the man's naivety. "A sybian, Mister Garfield, is a sex toy used by women," Burns explained in a matter-of-fact manner. "But _you_ told me it was a drilling tool," Garfield said to Bowman.

"Well, that depends on your definition of drilling," Bowman said with a smile as he walked out of the elevator. Garfield glared at the younger man as Burns walked off after him. Garfield slowly let out a breath as he exited the elevator as well, watching as Bowman and Burns became engaged in conversation. "Oh, by the way," Bowman said as they passed two bathroom doors, "I think we should probably relieve ourselves before we get on the shuttle."

"The shuttle doesn't have any bathrooms?" Garfield asked. "It's a cargo shuttle. It has a toilet room, but not a waste filtration system, although it does have a special internal collection system to save the waste for fuel purposes," Burns replied. "It... it what?" Garfield asked her, confused. "Garfield, let's just use the bathrooms on the station right now so that we don't regret it later," Bowman said before setting his briefcase on the floor and entering the restroom. Garfield reluctantly followed suit.

* * *

Entering the small cockpit area of the shuttle, Burns sat down at her control terminal, while Bowman and Garfield buckled themselves in behind her. "So, once this bird touches down, that's it until its maintenance cycle of finished?" Bowman asked the pilot. "Yep," Burns replied as she strapped herself in and started the preliminary flight check.

"Wait, you mean this thing could fall apart on us?" Garfield asked her. "No, it won't do _that_ ," Burns said, scoffing at his reaction. Garfield allowed himself to sigh in relief. "It'll explode... _violently_. Especially if the landing isn't smooth," Burns said with a wicked smile on her face, which Garfield couldn't see.

"Yep. The cabin will break apart and then we'll suffocate to death. Then the engines will go, lighting us up like a firecracker," Bowman added with a smirk. "Yep, and since we aren't wearing pressure suits, there won't be any chance of escape _this time_ ," Burns added. Garfield's face went white and a worried expression covered his face before he gulped in fear.

"What a beautiful way to die," Bowman added wistfully. A minute of silence passed, with Bowman glancing at Garfield's fearful expression, before he soon burst out laughing at the other man's reaction. "You sap!" Bowman exclaimed jovially. Garfield looked at Bowman with a confused expression, before he realized that he'd been had. "You... _sons of bitches_ ," Garfield muttered under his breath.

"I'll bust you back down to being a pencil pushing desk clerk for that," Garfield snarled at Bowman. "Please, I know another company that would be happy to take a desk worker if you get rid of me," Bowman said in response. Garfield restrained himself and simply remained quiet in his seat as Burns continued the pre-flight checklist.

"Okay, boys. We are ready to go," Burns announced as she disengaged the shuttle from the airlock umbilical. She had already sealed the airlocks and begun the pressurization process after she and the two men had entered the shuttle half an hour earlier. "Three... two... one... go," Burns said before engaging the thrusters and sending the shuttle on its way.

Looking at the monitor in front of her, Burns slowly began angle the shuttle, activating tiny angle thrusters at key locations along the hull, as well as turning the back engines, as she directed the shuttle towards Taros. Once the trajectory was locked into the shuttle's computer, Burns turned on the automatic pilot system and reclined back in her seat. Grabbing her hat, she pulled it down over her face and flipped on the air condition system to blow a soft breeze towards her body.

"G'night guys. Wake me when the computer lets out the alarm," Burns said before she quickly dozed off to sleep. "What alarm?" Garfield asked. "What _alarm?_ " he asked Bowman. "Don't worry. She has a timer that'll go off when we get close enough to the moon. If that doesn't wake her, then _we_ get to wake her up so that she can guide the shuttle down to the surface," Bowman explained.

"Well how long will that be?" Garfield asked him. "I'd say about an hour," Bowman replied with a shrug. "Wonderful," Garfield said sarcastically. "Hey, keep it down back there," Burns said, "I'm napping."

* * *

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

Inside the operations center of the mine, John Martin was busy speaking with Burns over a headset, watching a monitor that displayed the status of the interior docking bay along with the flight path of the shuttle. "Yeah, the doors will be open," Martin said. " _If they aren't, then there's gonna be hell to pay, John. This shuttle won't turn on a dime,_ " Burns responded. "I'm well aware of that, Burns. Just keep your panty-hoes on," Martin said with a snort.

Marcus walked over to Martin, sipping a mug of coffee as he listened in on the conversation while standing behind Martin. "How soon will they be landing?" Marcus asked Martin. "Hold on," Martin said to Burns before glancing up at Marcus. "In about forty-five minutes," Martin said.

" _Is that Fred you're talking to?_ " Burns asked over Martin's headset. "Yes, it's Marcus," Martin replied. " _Tell him that we've got an extra suit with us,_ " Burns said. "Bowman isn't alone this time?" Martin asked her. " _No. He brought a company executive named Garfield with him,_ " Burns replied.

"Does he like lasagna?" Martin asked her. " _Hold on a minute,_ " Burns said. There was muffled noise on the headset for a moment, before Burns spoke again. " _He does,_ " Burns replied. Martin snickered at the confirmation. "What about Mondays?" Martin asked her, causing Marcus to roll his eyes behind him.

" _Just hold on a second,_ " Burns said before more muffled talking could be heard. " _Yeah, he's already annoyed by the joke. So, I'll see you fellas in forty minutes. Burns out,_ " Burns said before ending the communique. Martin took off his headset and pushed his chair back, forcing Marcus to step to the side.

"Two corporate suits?" Marcus asked him. "Yep," Martin said as he rubbed his face. "Should've figured that would happen," Marcus said before taking another sip of his coffee. Martin nodded his head in agreement.

"Yep."

* * *

 **THE INTERIOR DOCKING BAY, FORTY MINUTES LATER...**

"And steady she goes," Burns said as she set the shuttle down on the maintenance platform inside the bay. The overhead airlock doors began to close shut, with the bay slowly re-pressurizing itself afterwards. "Just wait a few minutes before getting out," Burns said to her passengers. "We're not wearing suits, so let the docking bay get pressurized before stepping out. You gotta let the whole place adjust itself, along with the atmosphere, before walking outside," Burns warned.

"I remember seeing a platform on the surface of the station as we came down," Garfield said. "Along with what looked like a ship," he added. "That's a cargo hauler picking up our latest batch of mined ore and minerals," Burns said. "They'll be heading off soon enough, and then they'll take their haul to one of your corporate-owned refineries somewhere," she added.

"Have they been fully loaded yet?" Bowman asked her. "Don't know," Burns replied as she began checking the pressure and atmosphere of the bay using the shuttle's instruments. "It only arrived shortly before I left for Malvo, so they might have a few more hours before they get fully loaded and take off," Burns said after a minute.

"What's the haul?" Garfield asked her. "I don't know that either. I'm not really involved in that part of the process. I just fly cargo shuttles and personnel transports to the supply station and back," she replied. "Sounds exhausting," Bowman said sardonically. "Hey, Bowman? Would you care to step outside and see if the room is pressurized yet?" Burns asked him humorously.

"Nah, I think I'll stay in my seat," Bowman replied. "Smart boy. You _can_ learn," Burns said in false astonishment. "Should you really be talking that way to the people who sign your paycheck?" Garfield asked Burns, perturbed by her attitude. "Bowman doesn't sign my paycheck," she replied.

"She's right; I don't," Bowman said, glancing over at Garfield. "He's still a member of the company that _does_ ," Garfield warned. "Mm-hm," Burns mumbled. "Just don't take that attitude with _me_ ," Garfield said, warning the pilot. "After you leave this shuttle, you won't be seeing me until it's time to leave again, if even that. So, fair enough," she said as she continued monitoring the atmosphere and pressure readings inside the bay.

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER, THIRTY MINUTES LATER...**

Fred Marcus turned around as he heard the main door slide open. Two men wearing Weyland-Yutani fatigues walked forward. Marcus recognized the younger man, Bowman, but the older man was new. He assumed that the man was Garfield. "Mister Bowman, and Mister-" "Garfield. Marvin Garfield," Garfield said as he stepped forward with a smirk.

"Well, welcome to Taros Station Number Four. I'm Fred Marcus, Chief Operations Director," Marcus said, holding a hand out. Garfield stuck his hand out and shook Marcus's hand briefly before pulling away, subtly wiping his hand on his pants. "So, what's in the suitcase?" Marcus asked him. "Spare clothes, in case we have to stay here for more than a day," Garfield replied.

Marcus nodded his head subtly before turning to look at Bowman. "So, I take it that our discovery requires the presence of _two_ company suits instead of just one?" Marcus asked Bowman. Bowman opened his mouth to speak, just as Garfield cut him off. "This is a very important discovery, Mister Marcus," Garfield said.

"Yeah, I figured that much. So, how much extra are you guys going to give us if you want it?" Marcus asked him point blank. Garfield raised an eyebrow curiously, glancing over at the man sitting at the communications terminal before returning his focus to Marcus. "We have to verify that this is a genuine vessel of extraterrestrial origin before we can negotiate payment options," Garfield said firmly.

"Verify? You want to _verify it?_ Okay, I can let you do that," Marcus said in response. "I can give you all of our data, as long as you look at it where we can see you," Marcus said. "Where you can see me?" Garfield asked him. "Yeah. That way nothing is... lost, or copied and presented later as your own work," Marcus said, narrowing his eyes at Garfield.

"I'm offended at the insinuation that I would perform such underhanded actions," Garfield said with equally narrowed eyes. "Uh, hey guys, come on. Let's just get the data out in the open and look at it together. Whaddaya say?" Bowman suggested, eager to avoid a nasty confrontation between the two men.

"Very well. I'll abide by this requirement," Garfield said. Marcus nodded his head. "Okay then," he said with a smile. "Let's get started, shall we?" Marcus then looked over at Martin. "Martin, call Brooks to get in here, and have him bring Eastman over," Marcus said to the communications operator. "Got it," Martin said before making an announcement over the intercom.

"Mister Marcus, as much as data would help, I believe that it may also be within our best interest to physically confirm the vessel as well," Garfield said as they waited for the two other men to arrive. "You want to see it in person?" Marcus asked him. "Well... yes," Garfield said.

"Alright... after we've shown you the data. You aren't looking at that thing by yourself. We haven't even sent our own people any further than a few meters into that thing," Marcus explained. "Then how did you collect any data?" Garfield asked him. "I thought we made it clear in the report that we used unmanned probes to inspect the inside of the vessel," Marcus said curiously.

"I don't remember reading that part of the report," Garfield said. "I did," Bowman said, causing Garfield to glare at him briefly. "At least _someone_ read the whole thing," Marcus muttered.

A few minutes later, Bill Eastman and Carl Brooks entered the operations center, each one carrying a portable terminal and several folders with papers. "Paper? Out here?" Garfield asked as he saw the papers in Brooks' arms. "It helps sometimes," Brooks said as he approached the main display table.

"Brooks, Eastman, this is Marvin Garfield," Marcus said. "Garfield, these are Bill Eastman and Carl Brooks, field manager and company geologist, respectively. Well, Eastman is also a geologist, but not in the capacity of an official company-hired one," Marcus explained.

All three men nodded at each other in acknowledgement. "These gentlemen will provide you with the data that has been collected in the time since our report was submitted to the Weyland-Yutani corporate office on Thedus," Marcus said. "Alright, let's begin," Garfield said.

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE...**

Burns watched as the clamps locked around the shuttle to hold it in place as the platform moved over from to the other side of the bay. It was a slow process, and one that would take at least fifteen minutes to be completed properly, but it had to be done. Looking over her shoulder, Burns saw Rains and Milo enter the bay.

"Yo," Milo said as he walked over to her. "Hey, Milo. So, did you guys bring your tools?" Burns asked them. "They're already set up over there," Rains said as he pointed towards the maintenance garage. The shuttle was still slowly making its way through the room on the moving mechanical platform, one designed to withstand up to 500,000 pounds of pressure per square inch.

"Standard routine?" Rains asked her. "Yep. Standard routine," Burns said in response, watching the slow movement of the platform. "Oh, by the way... I found some of those spare parts you were asking about earlier," Rains said to Burns.

Burns looked at him with a smile on her face. "Did you now?" she asked him. "Indeed I did. I have them stored in a sack over by our tools. I'll give it to you later," Rains said. "Rains, you're a life saver," Burns said with an appreciative smile. "Well, I know what the ladies like," Rains replied. "I don't get it," Milo said.

"Don't get what?" Rains asked him. "If Burns here wants to fuck a machine so badly, why doesn't she just fuck Elliot?" Milo asked. "You know, he's got a point," Rains said as he turned to look at Burns. "Because Elliot isn't in that service anymore. He's not a... gigolo-bot or whatever anymore," Burns replied.

"Still doesn't mean you can't fuck him," Milo said.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER, TWO HOURS LATER...**

Garfield flipped through the last page of the extensive report that had been compiled. "You guys are certainly thorough," he said as he set the papers down on the table. "Well, with this out of the way, I think it's time that we actually inspected the ship itself," he said.

"You don't have any more questions?" Eastman asked him. "Nothing that can be answered by these reports. I want to see what this thing looks like in person," Garfield replied. "Alright, alright. Just be patient," Marcus said. "Eastman here will accompany you, along with one other miner," Marcus said. "Hell, I'll go out there too," Marcus added. "John, get Elliot in here and have him take over as operations director for a while," Marcus said to Martin. Martin nodded his head and called up the infirmary.

"He'll be on his way shortly," Martin said after a couple minutes. "Alright. We'll wait until he arrives," Marcus said. "So, you don't want to let me out of your sight?" Garfield asked Marcus questioningly.

"You're very sharp," Marcus noted. "I didn't get where I am by being oblivious," Garfield said with a smirk. "Good to know," Marcus said.

Ten minutes later, Elliot entered the operations center. "Hey, Chief," Elliot said nonchalantly as he walked over to the table where the others were sitting. "Hey, Elliot," Marcus replied. "Elliot, these are our guests from the company. You already know Mister Bowman," Marcus said.

"Bowman," Elliot said with a nod. "And this is-" "Marvin Garfield, executive at the Thedus branch main office," Garfield said smugly, cutting off Marcus. Elliot nodded his head. "Hello, Mister Garfield. Now, since I haven't seen you in the infirmary or medical lab for anything yet, I'm gonna have to ask you to undress and bend over right now," Elliot said with a straight face.

Everyone stared at Elliot, blinking in confusion. "Um... say what?" Bowman asked. "Just kidding," Elliot said with a chuckle. "That was... that... that was my... own little, um, brand of humor," Elliot said as he looked around at the disturbed faces of the staff and WY liaisons. "I'm sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Yeah... please don't do that again," Marcus requested. "You got it," Elliot said, nodding his head nervously. "So, uh, anyway, Elliot, I need you to hold down the fort while I take these gentlemen into the mine," Marcus said. "Should I prepare an alibi if they don't come back with you?" Elliot asked him humorously. "No, I plan on letting these two live," Marcus said in response as he stood up from his chair. Garfield, Bowman, Eastman, and Brooks followed suit.

"Actually, Brooks, you can stay here," Marcus said. Brooks reluctantly sat back down. "Marcus, what if the shipment is loaded before you return?" Elliot asked him.

"Then tell the cargo hauler that it can leave when it wants to, as long as a weight-check is performed," Marcus said. "Now, gentlemen, please follow me," Marcus said to the others as he led them out of the operations center and down the hallway. Elliot leaned against the table, crossing his arms.

"Jokes about public physicals are bad, but jokes about murder are okay? Whatever," Elliot said with a hint of frustration and confusion in his voice, shaking his head as he walked over to a chair, sat down and reclined back in it.

* * *

Author's notes: And here is the second chapter of ALIEN: HARD-HEADS. The next chapter will feature the exploration of the ship. Yes, the ship is one of those Engineer Juggernauts. I won't reveal what else happens in the next chapter, but I will say that someone gets an unwanted hug from a stranger.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the story so far in your reviews. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as pointing out what does and doesn't work allows a writer to improve their craft.


	3. DARK DISCOVERY

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

UPDATED 04/26/2017 \- I have fixed some spelling errors found throughout the chapter.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 03: DARK DISCOVERY**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 2137**

 **THE MINE, LEVEL C**

Inside the mine's main personnel elevator, five men were wearing pressurized space suits. The gloves were thick like hockey pads, but just dexterous enough to handle objects, and the helmets had small lights on top of them. The boots had small magnets on them that could be turned on or off, and there were air supply systems attached to the back of each suit. Three of the suits were yellow in color, while two were blue. As the elevator doors opened, the five men inside stared out into the cavern in front of them, the headlights from their suits showing the way. There were light poles spread out along the wall of the cavern, with air hoses and gas tanks set up at various points along the way.

There was also a sealed communications shack set up nearby, with several gas canisters and racks of tools lined up next to it, along with what looked like spare suits inside an open closet in the shack. The shack had a small airlock section in it, large enough for two people wearing suits at maximum. There was a large bundle of cables connected between the shack and the main facility, and a bundle of cables and hoses connected between the shack and a series of large gas canisters. "Okay, remember to keep the tow line connected at all times," Eastman said through his suit's radio.

"Yay. More tow lines," Garfield grumbled sarcastically. "What was that?" Marcus asked him. "I asked how strong the tow line is," Garfield lied. "Strong enough," Eastman said.

"How long is each tow line?" Garfield asked. "Three dozen meters. We never unspool the entire line at once, though. Each line usually still has a few meters left coiled," Lewis Fairbank, a miner, explained to him.

"These cable hooks won't break on the line, will they?" Garfield asked them. "They haven't failed us yet," Eastman said as the men began walking forward into the mine. They soon came across a handful of miners gathered around the air station, with one of them having their suit connected to a large canister via an industrial strength hose.

"So, you still have people working out here?" Garfield asked Marcus as they entered the junction between tunnels C-01, C-02, and C-03.

"For now," Marcus replied as they passed the miners and entered tunnel C-03. "Most of them are just finishing up on the marked areas for digging just up ahead. Everything after that is off-limits until we can figure out what to do about the ship," Eastman added as they unhooked from the main tow line and then attached their safety hooks to the tow line for the tunnel.

"How many levels does this ship take up in the mine?" Bowman asked them. "This level and part of level B," Marcus said. "It doesn't reach into any marked areas on level B, but it's close enough in proximity that we'll have to close down one of the tunnels soon," Eastman said.

"Bummer," Bowman said. "Yeah. Less of a haul for the next shipment," Fairbank said. "Well, we saw that you guys have a cargo hauler up on the surface. You must be reaching the quota for the next shipment, right?" Bowman asked. "Yeah, but our concern will be for the shipments scheduled _after_ this one," Marcus said.

"How so?" Bowman asked him. "The area taken up by the ship could've supplied us for two more shipments of ore and other metals," he replied. "Oh," Bowman said in understanding.

The group kept walking down the tunnel, eventually arriving at the large drill machine and the hole in the wall. Garfield looked at the glowing rods that had been set up near the entrance to the ship's interior. "Those lights won't affect any gases or chemical compounds in the ship, will they?" Garfield asked.

"No," Eastman said confidently as the men walked closer to the hole. Despite the blue glow of the light rods, the area still felt dark, and as the details of the interior became more apparent, a feeling of unease began to settle in a couple of them. Bowman felt a sensation tingling up his spine as he walked closer to the hole.

"Who wants to go first?" Marcus asked. Garfield stepped forward wordlessly, keeping his tow line secured as he entered the ship. Eastman was right behind him, following closely. Marcus stepped forward next, before he stopped and looked back at Bowman. "Bowman?" Marcus asked curiously.

"I... I'm coming," Bowman said, swallowing the sudden sensation of fear that crept through him as he walked closer to the hole. "That's a big boy," Marcus said humorously as Bowman walked next to him, stepping inside the ship and looking around at the interior. The walls held a bone-like feel to them on all sides, reminding Bowman of a rib-cage. The entire corridor looked and felt as though it were an endless rib-cage winding through a large animal.

"What is this?" Bowman asked quietly as he reached a gloved hand out and placed it against the wall, moving up and down on the surface. He looked around and saw more light rods posted meters apart from each other throughout the hallway. "I thought you guys didn't have any people in here?" Bowman asked, knowing that those rods hadn't been placed by machinery.

"Just a few yards have been explored so far. We had to collect samples," Marcus explained as he walked up behind Bowman. Fairbank brought up the rear as he held a large heavy-duty flashlight in his hands, along with a portable air supply and hose, with a small maintenance kit.

"Let's keep moving," Marcus said to Bowman as he walked after the other two men ahead of them. Looking around, Bowman still couldn't shake the sense of unease that crept through him and tingled his senses. Something felt wrong in this ship. Something felt very wrong.

Meanwhile, up ahead, Garfield and Eastman slowly made their way through the eerie and organic corridors of the vessel. Several minutes passed as the men moved forward, until they eventually entered a junction with three routes branching off. At the near-left corner of the junction was a small air supply station, essentially a folding bench with some air canisters and hoses, along with several bundles of tow lines and stakes for the lines. "This is as far as we've come so far. Up ahead to our left is a ramp of sorts, but there's a door blocking the way," Eastman said as he pointed to the left, showing a single light rod planted up ahead.

"A door?" Garfield asked him. "Yeah, at least we think it's a door," Marcus said. "Have you opened it yet?" Garfield asked them. "Not yet. It's sealed pretty tight, and we don't know what's inside. If there's an atmosphere beyond that door, it could be thousands of years old, untouched by outside forces. What we've been hoping to do at some point is perhaps get an archeological team in here, maybe use specialized equipment and take samples from what's inside there," Marcus said.

"Yeah. Exposing what's in there to our... atmosphere, or lack thereof, could have any number of negative effects on it. If we can keep what's there intact, we think it may be worth the wait," Marcus finished explaining. "You guys don't have specialized equipment of your own?" Garfield asked them questioningly.

"Our probes only went as far as the open corridors would allow. Most of the halls or tunnels in here are open and connected to each other, and even areas that aren't easily accessed have some holes that the probes could fit through to reach the other side, but some areas are still sealed off completely, leaving them unmapped," Eastman explained to him. "We don't know what kind of gases might be inside those areas, or how they might react to our equipment breaking through. A single spark from one piece of metal could potentially destroy this thing," he finished.

"Well... that's certainly a reason to wait until more delicate equipment can be used," Garfield conceded, nodding his head in agreement with their decision. The group was silent for a few minutes as Garfield looked around, reaching out and touching the walls before slowly walking up the path mentioned earlier. Eastman and Marcus followed him, while Bowman and Fairbank stayed behind.

Garfield slowly walked up a slightly curved path, shining the light from his helmet onto the walls as he moved, focusing on the lone light rod in the distance. He stopped walking as he waited for Marcus and Eastman to catch up to him. Looking back at them, he waited until they were only a foot away to ask an important question.

"How exactly do you know that the blockage up there is a door?" he asked them. "Our probes and scanners found that it's only so thick, and the area immediately beyond it is hollow," Eastman explained. "You guys are supposed to have special equipment of your own for drilling. I think you can use it for investigating this... ship," Garfield said as he realized just how organic the interior seemed to be, almost forgetting that he was inside a space-faring vessel and not the belly of a large organism.

"Well, as you just said, our equipment is for _drilling_... through rock and stone and other known elements and substances. This, on the other hand..." Eastman said, trailing off. "This isn't something that we expected to find. The surveys that our company conducted on this moon gave no indication that there was anything other than the usual content of a resource-rich moon," Marcus added.

"Yeah. At least ten different locations on this moon were surveyed before anyone started setting up drilling platforms or mining stations anywhere," Eastman said. "Our equipment isn't designed for delicate archeological study, and _this_ is something that requires delicate archeological studying by archeologists," Marcus said. Garfield closed his eyes and processed what he'd just been told.

When Garfield opened his eyes, he looked at Marcus. "Okay. I see your point," Garfield said reluctantly. "Let's check out the other areas that have been mapped and then head back to the station. We can begin negotiating your... _bonuses_ after that," Garfield said. Marcus and Eastman both smiled in response. "You know what? I think I'm starting to like you," Marcus said to Garfield, who rolled his eyes in response.

Meanwhile, back at the junction, Bowman was holding a conversation with Fairbank. "And then it just stopped working," Fairbank said. "Just like Diego predicted?" Bowman asked him in response. "Yup. So we turned it over and sure enough, when Yoshida opened the front panel, we found that the batteries had corroded inside of it, just like Diego said."

"Well, that's what happens when you let batteries sit for too long after they expire," Bowman said. The muffled sound of foot steps soon caught Bowman's attention, and he turned to look at the three men who had returned from their brief trek. "Come on, we're gonna check out the rest the explored sections," Marcus said. Bowman sighed inside his suit and reluctantly began following the others, with Fairbank walking behind him.

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

" _The load is secure. Weight check is finished and we'll be ready whenever you guys give us the go-ahead!_ " the pilot of the cargo hauler that was topside said over the comm-link. "Duly noted," Elliot said as he looked at the message on the terminal in front of him. "Message has been received," Elliot said as he looked at the data contained within the message. "You may prepare for take-off," Elliot said. " _Preparing for dust off. We'll be back in a few months for the next haul. See ya then!_ " the pilot chirped before ending the transmission.

Elliot leaned back back and removed the headset before setting it down on the keyboard. He looked over at the empty chair by the communications terminal, just as the door opened and Martin entered the room. "Are you finally done in the bathroom?" Elliot asked him. "Yeah, for now," Martin replied as he sat back down at his station.

"So, is the cargo away?" Martin asked him. "They're just leaving," Elliot replied as he pointed to the monitor showing the video feed of the ship as it began lifting itself off of the ground. "And our next paycheck is secured," Martin said with a grin. "Right on," Elliot said with a smile of his own.

* * *

 **THREE HOURS LATER...**

"Fifty percent," Marcus said firmly. "Twenty-five percent," Garfield said with equal firmness in his voice. "Hey, we found the damn thing, and that means we have claim to it," Marcus retorted. "Thirty-five percent," Garfield said. "Fifty percent. Take it, or we keep the ship for ourselves or give it to someone else. It was found with _our_ equipment, and explored by _our_ workers. Nothing that's being used down here is owned or made by Weyland-Yutani," Marcus said, glaring at Garfield.

"He's got a point," Bowman said to Garfield, who simply glared at him in response. Despite his unwillingness to give someone so much money, Garfield knew that he couldn't allow the opportunity to go to waste. He _had_ to grab the Engineer ship for the company. Any monetary loss made by paying the miners a large bonus would easily be offset by the profits made from further research and reverse engineering of the technology found within.

"Fine. Fifty percent of all prior hauls plus the payment for the current outgoing haul combined," Garfield said with a grimace on his face. "See? I knew we could sort things out like civilized adults," Marcus said with a smile. "I will... begin the process of calculating the transaction after we return to Thedus," Garfield said as he began to stand up.

"No. You're going to do it here, and you're going to sign a form, with signatures from witnesses to confirm it. There will be _no_ chance of lost or forgotten deals," Marcus said firmly. Garfield sucked in a breath and seethed through his teeth. "Very well," he said through gritted teeth as he sat down. "Elliot, please go retrieve and print out the requisite form. Make any necessary changes to reflect our current circumstances, and then bring it here. Then, we'll have the form copied," Marcus said.

"Right away, sir," Elliot said before he walked over to a computer terminal next to a printer and began his task. "You don't have an office?" Garfield asked him. "I do, but I prefer being in here where I can oversee everything," Marcus replied. "Of course you do," Garfield said dryly.

A couple minutes later, Elliot returned with a printed document. "Alright, you just need to sign your name on the line, and then the rest of us will add our witness signatures," Elliot said as he laid the paper in front of Garfield. "I don't have anything to write with," Garfield said.

"Here," Elliot said as he retrieved a pen from his breast pocket. "Use this," he added as he handed the pen to Garfield, who took it quickly before uncapping it and moving the pen towards the line. "Read the document first," Marcus said before Garfield touched the paper.

Garfield looked over the paper. "Read it out loud, please. I insist," Marcus said firmly. Garfield glared at him before reading the document out loud, finally signing his name after finishing. "Are you happy now?" Garfield asked him as he gave the pen back to Elliot, who then signed the paper. "I've never been happier," Marcus replied with a smirk as Elliot gave the pen to him so that he could sign the document. Marcus then gave the pen to Bowman, who signed his name as well. Bowman then gave the pen to Eastman, and so on, until everyone in the room had signed the document.

"Elliot, please make copies of this for us," Marcus said. Elliot grabbed the paper and made his way back over to the printer before scanning the document and saving an electronic version of it on the computer. He then began the copying process. "God damn it," Garfield muttered under his breath as he watched Elliot perform his task, his sole consolation being that the Engineer ship would soon be in the hands of Weyland-Yutani.

"Now, let's send this message to your corporate office on Thedus," Marcus said, grinning at his victory. "Bowman, please assist them in sending this message to our office on Thedus," Garfield said. "Wait, you're the executive. Won't there be passwords that only you know about?" Bowman asked him. "Not for this. Just send it on the usual relay that you've used in the past when transmitting from here," Garfield told him.

Bowman did as he was told and made his way over to a computer, with Elliot and Martin assisting him in retrieving the electronic file and attaching it to an e-mail to send to the corporate office on Thedus. The message would piggyback off of several relay satellites throughout the systems in the Outer Veil region, but it would ultimately reach its destination within a week or two. Making sure that the message was encrypted, Bowman sent the file on its way.

"And we're off to the races," Bowman said. "Huh?" Martin asked him. "Sorry, I just... I've always wanted to say that," Bowman explained with a shrug as he stood up and walked away from the computer terminal.

"Well, with that settled, how about we spread the word," Marcus said, smiling.

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

Marcus had called all of the station's personnel to the operations center over the intercom system. Thirty miners and thirteen administrative staff were now looking at him expectantly, while two Weyland-Yutani employees stared at him, one with contempt, and the other in mild curiosity. "Alright, people. I've called all of you in here because I have an important announcement to make," Marcus said with a grin as he sat on the edge of the main table.

Marcus then allowed a brief period of silence, expecting someone to raise a hand and ask him about his announcement. Instead, everyone simply remained quiet. "Nobody... wants to take a guess?" Marcus asked them. "Oh, you didn't ask us to take a guess," one miner, Akiho Yoshida, said.

"Okay, take a guess," Marcus said. Yoshida then proceeded to scratch her chin in thought, while Robert Diego raised his right hand. "Does it have something to do with the ship we found?" Diego asked. "Yes, Diego. It's related to the ship," Marcus replied.

"Are we going to continue exploring the inside of it?" Yoshida finally asked. "Well, perhaps, but for now... Mister Garfield over here, an executive of the Weyland-Yutani Company, has agreed to ensure that we all receive a nice healthy bonus for our discovery," Marcus said with satisfaction as he scanned the room, taking in everyone's reactions. "How big of a bonus?" another miner, Elton Sanchez, asked him.

"Fifty percent of all prior hauls, plus our current outgoing haul... _combined_ ," Marcus said, causing everyone's eyes to widen and jaws to drop. "A-Are you... serious?" Burns asked him in disbelief. "Absolutely," Marcus replied.

"You aren't lying to make us work harder, are you?" Jeff Green asked him. "He's not lying," Bowman said from where he was standing. "We just sent the message to the corporate office on Thedus. The agreement was signed by Mister Garfield, with witness signatures by myself and all other personnel present in the room at the time it was signed," Bowman explained.

Slowly, the realization began to dawn on the miners and other staff... and there was much rejoicing. Grins broke out on once stoic faces, and laughs of surprise and joy escaped grease-covered lips and cheeks. "All right!" one miner, Michael Estevez, cried out in jubilation. Everyone began to celebrate the reality of their financial victory.

Marcus watched as the miners and other staff cheered and hollered for a few minutes, before standing up from his "seat" and raising his arms to hush everyone. "Alright, settle down, people. Settle down," Marcus said. "Before we get too carried away, let's go over a few things. Now, this bonus ain't gonna reach any of us for a while, so don't go blowing your bank accounts," Marcus continued.

"And... since our current haul is still on its way, that means we won't receive anything until it's been calculated and added, and that's going to take a couple weeks as well. So... I know that you're all eager to celebrate, but keep in mind that the bonus isn't in our hands yet," Marcus finished. "Now, that being said, I don't think there's any reason to not have a little fun," he said after a minute.

"Can we head down to the colony?" one miner, Beatrice Walker, asked him. "As long as you watch your spending, I don't see a problem," Marcus replied. "Burns, how soon can you get the other shuttle ready?" Marcus asked the pilot. "Um, can you have Shore do it? I'm still busy doing maintenance on the other shuttle," Burns replied.

"Okay. Vernon, would you be willing to take these men and women out to Dalia for some well-earned celebratory vacation time?" Marcus asked the other pilot. "Uh, sure," Vernon replied nonchalantly. "Is the other shuttle okay to fly?" Yoshida asked.

"It should be. I mean, we finished doing maintenance on it a week ago," Rains said from the corner of the room. "It's the primary shuttle that's currently in dry-dock," Milo added. "We won't need both shuttles to transport everyone to the colony?" another miner, Calvin Gordon, asked them. "Of course not. Both shuttles are rated for heavy duty mining usage. The secondary shuttle can easily carry everyone in this room," Rains replied.

"Well, not everybody is going to be leaving for Dalia," Marcus said. "Huh?" "Say that again?" several miners asked him in confusion. "The main administrative staff will remain here," Marcus explained. "Um, shouldn't at least one member of the medical staff go with them?" Charles Morris, the assistant physician, asked with a hopeful tone.

"Elliot?" Marcus asked, turning his head. "I should be able to handle things on my own. After all, I'll only be looking after eleven administrative staff... and two outsiders," Elliot replied, glancing over at Bowman and Garfield. "Well, I guess that means you get to join them," Marcus said to Morris.

"Um, just how much time are you giving us for this vacation?" Yoshida asked. "How about... five to seven days?" Marcus replied. "Can we really go that long before returning to the mine?" Diego asked. "As long as you all have your time-clocks sorted out, and all of the non-essential equipment is returned to its proper location, you guys can have a standard week on the colony," Marcus said in response.

"Just remember, though, watch what you spend, and _no_ gambling. You hear me? _Jones?_ " Marcus asked as he focused his attention on one miner in particular, who shrank away from the man's gaze. "Jones?" Marcus asked again. "Right. N-No gambling. None at all," Veronica Jones said sheepishly in acknowledgement of Marcus's orders.

"Good. Now, I want all of you to make sure that your equipment in the mine is put away properly, unplug and lock down anything that has to stay where it is until you return, and make sure that all suits are put away when you're done," Marcus said firmly. "When that's finished, get yourselves cleaned up, put on some casual clothes, and get some shut eye. You all get to leave at..." Marcus turned to look at one of the digital clocks on the wall, displaying the various times and time zones for the moon and the colony.

"You get to leave tomorrow morning, twelve hours from now. So, go do your chores, and then you can have the rest of the week to yourselves," Marcus said with a smirk. The miners all nodded their heads with enthusiasm as they departed for their stations and quarters, except for four of them. Jeff Green, Bill Eastman, Vince Hoffman, and Lewis Fairbank had all stayed behind.

"Is something wrong?" Marcus asked the four miners as the rest of the station's administrative staff began to filter out of the room, returning to their stations. "Um, is is okay if we just stay here?" Green asked him. "Sure. You can stay, but just keep in mind that you won't be able to leave for the colony after the shuttle departs," Marcus replied. "I'll keep that in mind. I don't like traveling through space anyway, though," Green said.

"And what about the rest of you?" Marcus asked curiously. "I'd like to stay behind and continue mapping a few more parts of that ship's interior. There's also some equipment that's in there that will need to be checked on periodically," Eastman explained. "Well, I guess it's good for you that Green has decided to stay. After all, no one is allowed outside by themself," Marcus said.

"Now, what about you two?" Marcus asked Hoffman and Fairbank. "If it's all the same, we'd just rather stay here," Hoffman said. "Besides, I have a card game planned for the seventeenth with Hansen and Kendricks," Hoffman said, referring to Steven Kendricks and Mick Hansen, two of the station's security officers, both of whom held the rank of deputy.

"Hey, this could be your only chance in a long while to get some fresh non-recycled air," Martin quipped from his chair. "Fresh air is overrated," Hoffman replied sarcastically. Martin shrugged in response. "Suit yourself," Martin added.

Meanwhile, Marcus had turned his attention to Bowman and Garfield. "So, with this taken care of, I suppose you'll both be leaving for Thedus soon?" Marcus asked them. Bowman opened his mouth to speak, before Garfield cut him off... again.

"Actually, we'll be staying another day or two," Garfield said. Bowman glanced at Garfield and tilted his head in confusion. "We will?" Bowman asked the older man.

"Yes, Mister Bowman. I'd personally like to go back inside the ship tomorrow and take a closer look at the sections we explored earlier today," Garfield said. Bowman raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing as he nodded his head.

"You didn't get enough of the creepy ship earlier?" Marcus asked Garfield. "Well, since you _are_ signing it over to Weyland-Yutani, I think it's only appropriate that a more thorough inspection by said company's employees be conducted," Garfield replied. Marcus was silent for a moment as he processed Garfield's words, slowly nodding his head in agreement with the man.

"Alright," Marcus said, "I see your point. But, you aren't allowed to go out alone." Garfield looked at Marcus quizzically. "No one enters the mine alone. Everyone goes in pairs. If something goes wrong with your suit or your equipment, someone else needs to be there with you," Marcus explained. Garfield nodded his head in understanding.

"Safety first," Marcus said. "And with that in mind," he added, "I think you two should go see Elliot in the Medical Bay. Get a free checkup. If you cooperate, he might give you a lollipop."

 **THE MEDICAL BAY...**

Elliot looked over all of the provisions that were in the travel bag he was helping Morris prepare. "Elliot, you're acting like a father sending his son off to summer camp," Morris said half-jokingly. Elliot looked up at Morris and frowned.

"I take my role as primary health care provider very seriously, Morris. And you should too," Elliot said sternly. Morris sighed and shook his head at Elliot.

"There are going to be clinics down on the colony, Elliot. I don't need an entire station's worth of medical supplies with me," Morris said. "At most, I'll probably just need some spare bandages and an extra First Aid kit," he added.

Elliot closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Very well," he said reluctantly. Stepping away from the bag, he allowed Morris to begin removing unnecessary items, such as a stethoscope and a few surgical instruments. Morris looked at Elliot questioningly after picking up the surgical instruments. Elliot simply responded with a shrug.

A few minutes later, the door to the med bay slid open and Bowman and Garfield stepped inside. "Can I help you?" Elliot asked them as he stepped away from Morris and walked over to the two men. Bowman opened his mouth to speak, only for Garfield to cut him off.

"Mister Marcus told us that we should see you for a checkup before doing anything else today," Garfield said. Bowman closed his mouth and simply nodded his head in agreement. Elliot glanced back over at the table where Morris was unloading his bag, before glancing back at Bowman and Garfield.

"Alright. Please follow me to the examination area," Elliot said as he led the two men over to a door. The door quickly slid open and fed into the Infirmary, which held several examination tables, along with two built-in containment examination beds, similar to those found in the medical bays of commercial star frieghters. Elliot pointed to two normal examination tables for the men to sit down on.

Grabbing two sets of charts, a stethoscope, some tongue sticks and a cup of head examining devices, Elliot made his way over to the men, stopping in front of Bowman first after grabbing a spinning chair to sit down on. Pulling up to Bowman, Elliot frowned. "Is something wrong?" Bowman asked him.

"Yes," Elliot replied, "I forgot to have you take off your shoes and step on the scales. I really should collect data on your height and weight first." Garfield sighed in annoyance while Bowman merely rolled his eyes. "Mister Bowman, I need you to go first," Elliot said firmly.

"Is this really necessary?" Bowman asked him. Elliot furrowed his brows at the man. "Oh yes. Absolutely. All doctor appointments have this procedure," Elliot replied.

"Fine," Bowman said reluctantly. "Let's get this over with." Elliot smiled at him. "Splendid," Elliot said as he stood up and led Bowman over to the scale. As Bowman prepared himself, Garfield rubbed his temples in aggravation, wondering just how much time he was going to have to spend around the (to him) annoying physician.

* * *

 **THE SPARE STORAGE ROOM/MAKESHIFT VISITOR QUARTERS, TWO HOURS LATER**

Stepping inside the almost barren room, which had two bunks in it, Garfield and Bowman walked over to their respective suitcase and briefcase. Bowman hummed to himself as he got onto the bunk and splayed himself out. Garfield, however, opened his briefcase and pulled out one of his spare clothing bags. "You didn't tell me that the physician was an android," Garfield said to Bowman.

"I didn't think it mattered," Bowman replied as he closed his eyes. "A _sexaroid_ , though? Of all the-I just don't see how anyone thought that was a good idea," Garfield said with contempt in his voice. "Hey, the guy does his job well enough. What's the big deal?" Bowman retorted.

"It's just very... unorthodox," Garfield said. "And he isn't even one of ours," Garfield added, having learned that Elliot had been manufactured, not by Weyland-Yutani or Seegson, but by Cyber-Gen Industries, a company that specialized in niche market products. Despite being rather obscure and unknown to the general public, Cyber-Gen Industries often gave Weyland-Yutani a run for their money when it came to producing droids. Unlike certain models produced by Weyland-Yutani and their sub-divisions, Cyber-Gen droids rarely ever malfunctioned or attempted to kill people unless they found themselves in very specific and dire circumstances.

Glancing over at Bowman, Garfield slyly stuck his hand into his suitcase, feeling around to make sure that the special equipment he brought with him was still in place. Smiling in satisfaction that it had been left untouched, Garfield grabbed an alarm clock and withdrew his hand and arm from the suitcase before zipping it closed, moving the suitcase over to the corner next to the other bunk. He then made his way onto the bunk and laid down, setting the alarm clock and putting it on the floor.

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 16th, 2137**

Walking through the corridors of the mining station, Burns groggily greeted the miners she passed on the way to the galley. "Mornin', Yoshida," Burns said groggily to the female miner as she entered the galley. "Morning to you too, Alex," Yoshida said to her. Yoshida was one of the few people who actually used Burns' first name in conversation. "You look like hell," Yoshida added as she looked at Burns' unkempt appearance. Burns wasn't wearing her jacket or her hat, and instead was wearing just her pants and an A-Shirt, along with her bra underneath. Her dark brown hair was rustled and unbrushed, and there was a thin layer of dried sweat covering her skin.

"Thanks. I spent an hour making myself as messy as possible. I'm glad it paid off," Burns replied dryly as she walked over to a stack of trays and grabbed one before procuring a set of utensils from a dispenser. "Shame you aren't coming with us to the colony," Yoshida said to her.

"Shame you feel the need to remind me," Burns said in response as she made her way over to one of the industrial meal dispensers. She placed her tray on the rail set in front of the main dispenser compartment before reaching up and tapping the menu screen on the side. She scrolled through the breakfast menu and selected her preferred options before hitting the preparation button. The screen flashed a small red X next to her items, causing her to frown.

"Hey, what gives?" she asked. Yoshida walked over and looked at the screen. "It looks like the machine needs to be restocked," Yoshida noted. Burns groaned in frustration, slamming a fist on the front surface of the food dispenser. "Hey, don't take your anger out on the food machine. It can't refill itself on its own. Well, this model can't," Yoshida quipped.

"Please tell me that we at least still have pancakes, right? We still have those? 'Cause if we don't, I'm gonna throw someone out of an airlock," Burns growled. "Yes, Alex. We still have pancakes," Yoshida said, sounding like a mother trying to calm her child.

Stepping closer, Yoshida sniffed Burns. "You smell like sweat," Yoshida commented. "Uh-huh," Burns said as she cancelled her previous order on the menu and began a new selection, choosing the pancakes. "When was the last time you had a shower?" Yoshida asked her.

"Right before I took the shuttle to collect the corporate suits," Burns replied as a green check sigh appeared on the screen. Burns smiled before selecting her next breakfast item. "Well, maybe think about getting cleaned up some time today," Yoshida said. "Uh-huh," Burns said nonchalantly as her order was prepared by the machine.

"Are you even listening to me?" Yoshida asked her. "Get cleaned up later today," Burns said in response. Yoshida closed her eyes and shook her head at her friend. "You are insufferable sometimes, you know that?" Yoshida asked Burns. "Mm-hm," Burns murmured in response.

Yoshida let out a sigh. "Well, the shuttle's leaving in about an hour, so I'm gonna do one last check on my travel gear. Do you want me to bring something back from the colony for you?" Yoshida asked Burns.

Turning her head away from the dispenser as it hummed and droned, the menu screen showing a gray-outlined progress bar with a series of blue blocks progressively filling the bar, Burns looked at Yoshida. "Yeah. Can you get me some specialized batteries for my vibrators?" Burns asked her. "I still have some unopened battery packs in my quarters. You can have a few of those if the batteries in yours are dying," Yoshida replied.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Burns said before returning her attention to the food dispenser, watching as the progress bar on the screen finally filled up. There was a loud ping as the small compartment doors slid open and a robotic arm pushed out a plate with three warm square-shaped pancakes on it. Burns grabbed the plate and placed it on her tray before making her way over to a condiment station to grab some syrup packets.

Burns quickly made her way over to the hot beverage station and grabbed a mug before placing it under one of the coffee machines. "Well... I'll see you when I get back," Yoshida said. "I'll be there to see you off at the shuttle," Burns called out from where she was standing, her back turned to Yoshida. "You'd better," Yoshida called out before walking out of the galley.

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE**

Edgar Rains yawned as he walked over to a terminal in front of the platform that the shuttle was locked on. There was a very long bundle of cables connected to the terminal that ran all the way up into an opened maintenance hatch on the shuttle. Placing his coffee mug on a flat arm with a small circular indent for holding things, Rains adjusted his cap and pressed a button to turn on the screen. A fancy screen-saver was in motion for a few seconds, before the screen showed a message asking for a password.

"Password my ass," Rains muttered under his breath. He quickly typed 'FUCK YOU' into the small command box and hit the ENTER key, only for the computer to reject it. "Milo, you son of a bitch," Rains muttered in agitation as he slowly knelt down to look at the small piece of paper taped to the underside of the keyboard.

Rains memorized the password and went to stand up, only to bump into the arm holding his coffee, knocking the mug over and spilling his drink onto the floor. "Aw, god damn it!" Rains exclaimed in anger. "Fuck!" he swore quickly before walking around to the side of the terminal and picking up his mug from the floor.

Snorting in indignation, Rains marched over to one of the cleanup stations nearby and grabbed some paper towels and a spray bottle. He angrily marched back over to the wet spot on the floor and knelt down to begin cleaning it up. A minute later, one of the doors to the room slid open and Milo Thurgood walked inside, carrying his own coffee mug in his hands. "Hey, Rains, what happened?" Milo asked his supervisor as he walked over to the maintenance terminal.

Rains stood up and glared at Milo while slowly shaking his head. "Uh, Rains? You gonna fill me in?" Milo asked him. Rains still didn't respond. "Rains?" Milo asked again, only for Rains to point towards the maintenance terminal.

Milo walked over and looked at the screen. He then looked back over at Rains. "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you about this," Milo said absentmindedly. "Yeah? Well I hope I don't forget to tell you when there's something slippery on the floor," Rains replied sardonically.

Milo scoffed at his indignation. "Pfft. Crybaby," Milo muttered as he typed in the password and accessed the computer's menu, checking on the progress of the maintenance routine. "Hey, the secondary systems check is already seventy-five percent complete," Milo said with a grin.

Rains sighed and nodded his head before standing back up. "Well, that's good. How much longer until it's finished?" he asked Milo as he walked over to a trash bin and discarded the used paper towels. Milo looked at a small counter in the top corner of the screen.

"It looks like it might take another three hours. Maybe less, depending on which systems are left," Milo reported before taking a sip of his coffee. Rains walked over to the terminal and looked at the screen. "Should we call Burns when that's done?" Rains asked Milo.

"Nah. Let's wait and see what the test results are before calling her down," Milo replied. Rains nodded his head in agreement. "Well, you just stay here and watch this. I'll be back shortly," Rains said before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Milo asked him. Rains held up the empty mug in his hand. "I'm gettin' more coffee."

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER, ONE HOUR LATER...**

Marcus watched as the screen in front of him showed the shuttle taking off. "And there they go," he said to himself. Martin glanced over at him and nodded his head.

"You know, Fred, you could've gone with them and left Elliot in charge," Martin said. Marcus turned his chair round and glanced at Martin. He shook his head in disagreement.

"No, my place is here. They're the ones doing all the physical labor. They've earned this," Marcus said before turning back around to watch the screen.

A few minutes later one of the exit doors slid open. Marcus turned his head to see Garfield and Bowman entering the room. "Good morning, gentlemen," Marcus said amicably. "Good morning, Marcus," Bowman said in return with a nod of his head.

"Marcus, what time would it be okay for one or more of the remaining miners to accompany me to the ship?" Garfield asked him casually, doing his best to hide his impatience. "Well, I guess it depends on who's awake and when they're ready," Marcus replied.

"Do you know where I could find them?" Garfield asked him. Marcus raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly at the question. "Well, you could always check the galley," Marcus said. Garfield nodded his head appreciatively.

"Of course, you wanna make sure to let them _eat_ before you ask them to do anything," Marcus warned. Garfield nodded his head in understanding. "Of course. Nobody wants to work on an empty stomach," Garfield said in agreement.

"Hm. So you _are_ human," Marcus said humorously with a wry smile. "Of course. There are any number of women back on Thedus who can testify to that fact," Garfield said smugly.

Marcus had to restrain himself from making a joke at the man's expense. "Well, I'm sure that Bowman can show you the way to the galley. Right, Bowman?" Marcus asked the younger Weyland-Yutani employee. Bowman looked away from the terminal he had been examining.

"Huh?" Bowman asked. Garfield placed a palm on his face. "The galley; Can you take Mister Garfield there?" Marcus asked him. "Sure. I'm feeling pretty hungry myself," Bowman said.

"Come on, Garfield. Let's go get some lasagna in the galley," Bowman said humorously as he walked over to the door. Garfield glared at him, ignoring the snickers coming from Marcus and Martin. Following Bowman, Garfield waited until they were in the hallway before he smacked the younger man upside the back of his head.

"Ow!" Bowman whined, before Garfield grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him close. "I had to put up with those jokes back when I was in school. I am _not_ going to put up with them now. Keep them to yourself, Bowman," Garfield practically snarled at the younger man. "Y-Yes sir," Bowman said nervously.

Garfield let go of Bowman's shirt and gestured for the him to lead the way again. Looking on from the doorway, Martin and Marcus both waited until the door had closed before giving each other questioning looks. The two men ultimately deciding against getting themselves involved.

* * *

 **THE GALLEY...**

Bill Eastman took a bite out of his square pizza "slice" and chewed before nodding his head in agreement to Garfield's request. "Alright, so when can we-ow!" Garfield yelped as Eastman stabbed a plastic fork at his hand. He'd been reaching for a piece of pizza while conversing with the man, but he hadn't counted on Eastman being so observant.

Eastman swallowed his food before giving Garfield a warning. "Touch my food again, and you'll find yourself trapped down there with a limited air supply. I can come up with any number of lies about you getting lost that anybody who's worked in a mine will believe," Eastman said darkly.

"Right," Garfield said, holding his hand and rubbing the spot where the plastic points had jabbed him. "So, when can we go into the ship?" Garfield asked him again. "Give me an hour or two. I've got some projects that still need to be taken care of and a list of things to give to the other three guys who chose to stay," Eastman replied before finishing his pizza slice. He then reached down and retrieved another square slice from the tray in front of him.

"Is everything in those machines square-shaped?" Garfield asked as he looked at the pizza.

"Depends on what it is. Hot dogs and sausages are normal," Eastman replied before taking a sip of his iced tea. Bowman nodded his head in agreement. He then chuckled to himself as he remembered his second trip to the mine, when he'd somehow managed to get _cube-shaped meatloaf_ from one of the machines, with rounded 90 degree angles. It was one of the most perplexing things that Bowman had ever seen by that point in his life.

"What are you chuckling about?" Garfield asked Bowman. "He's probably remembering that time he got a meatloaf cube," Eastman said between bites of his pizza. Garfield raised an eyebrow as he glanced between both men. "Meatloaf... cube?" he asked, slightly disturbed.

"Mm-hm. It was actually pretty good," Bowman replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get myself some food," Bowman said as he stood up from the bench chair and walked over to grab a tray and utensils before approaching a food dispenser. Garfield looked back at Eastman and leaned in closer, checking to see if anyone else in the galley was watching them.

The only other people in the room were Carl Brooks, Anna Torres, Vince Hoffman, and Jeff Green. However, as Green stood up and took his tray over to a trash receptacle, still limping ever so slightly from his injury a month earlier, the number of people in the galley was soon reduced. Green left the room, and Hoffman soon followed him after cleaning off his tray and placing it on the counter for the automatic cleaning system to retrieve it before exiting the room.

" _I'd like to speak with you alone before we go down there,_ " Garfield whispered. Eastman raised an eyebrow questioningly. " _It'll be worth your time,_ " Garfield added before glancing back over at Bowman, who was retrieving his food from the dispenser. Garfield resumed facing Eastman as the miner resumed eating his pizza.

Garfield soon craned his neck as he heard Bowman approaching him from behind. He looked at the contents of the man's tray, which basically included a bowl of mac & cheese, and a large piece of meatloaf, which was square-shaped. "That... is not normal," Garfield noted as Bowman sat down with his food. Garfield himself soon stood up and made his way over to the food dispensers after grabbing a tray and utensils.

* * *

 **THE MINING ELEVATOR LOBBY, TWO HOURS LATER...**

Standing outside the airlock doors of the freight elevator that led to the mine, Garfield, Eastman, and Fairbank were suiting up. While Fairbank was ahead of the other two men in suiting up and assessing his suit's air supply, attaching a hose to one of the station's built-in gas mixing units, Garfield was having difficulty putting on his suit and sealing it properly, forcing Eastman to help him. This, of course, gave the two men an opportunity to discuss Garfield's plans.

" _Alright, what do you wanna talk about?_ " Eastman asked Garfield in a whisper. Garfield glanced over at Fairbank before replying. " _I want you to get me inside that blocked area, or help me get a physical sample of the ship or its inside components,_ " Garfield whispered back.

" _Listen, how much do you make compared to that pencil-pusher, Brooks?_ " Garfield asked Eastman quietly before he could protest. A questioning look appeared on Eastman's face as he thought about Garfield's question. " _He makes more, doesn't he? You spend hours out in the field, busting your ass, while he gets to stay in a cozy office and look at read-outs on a computer screen_ ," Garfield whispered.

" _You're a geologist too, aren't you?_ " Garfield asked the miner. " _Yeah, but-_ " " _Then why should he make more when you have twice the skill-set? Twice the experience in the field, doing hard labor and operating the machinery. You help me get a sample of something, anything, from that ship, and I'll secure you a contracted position with the company. You'll be contracted for high-paying positions, doing physical work_ _ **and**_ _the survey work. Even if you don't want that, I can still increase your bonus. I'll make it extra pay for extra work. You're in charge of the people out here, and you're out here with them,_ " Garfield continued, slowly working his way into Eastman's mind.

Eastman slowly found himself agreeing with Garfield's statements, although he still didn't view Brooks with the contempt that Garfield seemed to assume he did. Brooks did his own job, and Eastman did another. That was the way he saw things, but a lot of the other things that Garfield was saying were certainly tempting. Temptation was growing, and Garfield was slowly hooking his claws around Eastman, trying to pull him in.

" _I can make you a head manager or a field director for terraforming projects, overseeing various surveys on moons and in asteroid fields that Weyland-Yutani has claimed. You'll be in high-paying positions with benefits that no other company can hope to match. I'm a corporate_ _ **executive**_ _, Mister Eastman, working at a main office. I have the rank and power within the company to make it happen,_ " Garfield whispered confidently. The claws had sunk, and Eastman was now caught by temptation.

" _What kind of sample do you want?_ " Eastman asked him quietly. Garfield smiled in response, glancing over at Fairbank, who was just finishing up his air supply check. " _Let me figure that out,_ " Garfield with a smirk. Eastman felt a combination of trepidation, excitement, regret, and anticipation all welling up inside of him. Nodding his head, he finished helping Garfield suit up before slipping into his own pressure suit.

Eastman then made his way over to an equipment locker and retrieved a set of large heavy-duty flashlights. "We'll use these when we enter the ship. Don't turn 'em on before then. Keep the batteries fresh," Eastman said through his helmet's speakers. Fairbank and Garfield both gave him a thumbs up. "Okay. Garfield, stick close to me while we're down there," Eastman said.

Eastman then made his way over to the control panel for the elevator and used the keypad to enter the access code. The light above the door flashed green in acceptance as the elevator's airlock doors began to open, the brights inside shining across the men's helmets. Inside his suit, Garfield smiled in earnest as he stepped into the elevator.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

Looking over at one of the monitors, Marcus noticed that the mining elevator for personnel transport was being accessed. Marcus raised an eyebrow at this, before he remembered that Garfield had been eager to persuade one of the miners to take him out to see the ship again. His mind put at ease, Marcus shrugged his shoulders and went back to calculating the costs for replacing the oldest and most worn-down pieces of equipment in the station, wondering how much longer they could continue being used before they began costing more to fix than they were worth.

* * *

 **THE MINE, LEVEL C**

Walking through tunnel C-03, the trio of men slowly made their way over to where the drill had been locked down. "Fairbank, see if you can grab some hand-held picks and cutting tools from that cabin, along with some specimen containers," Eastman said, pointing at the manual-control cabin for the drill. Fairbank turned to look at him in confusion.

"I thought we weren't doing any excavation work on this thing," Fairbank said. "We're collecting some samples for study. Before the order to sign the ship over to Weyland-Yutani reaches its corporate servers. This may be our only shot," Eastman lied. Fairbank nodded his head and made his way over to the drill, stepping inside the manual-control cabin and retrieving some hand-held tools from a cabinet inside.

Marching past the drill, the three men entered the ship, turning on their flashlights as they hooked themselves to the tow line inside. "This way," Eastman said as he led them through the organic-looking interiors. Shining their lights around, the Garfield took notice of the bone-like structures that made up the wall.

Slowly, and carefully, the men trekked through the corridors of the ship until they came upon the junction in the hallway, where the air station was still set up. Eastman walked over to the station and checked his air supply, noting that it was still good for another two hours. He had Fairbank and Garfield check their supplies as well, with Fairbank having the most air in his suit, at least until Eastman and Garfield had their supplies connected to the air station and refilled.

"Okay, Fairbank, I want you to stay here while Garfield and I head down one of those corridors that way," Eastman said as he pointed towards a darkened corridor. "Garfield doesn't have any experience with fixing a suit. What if something goes wrong with yours?" Fairbank asked him.

"That's a good point," Eastman said. "Okay, come along with us, but make sure that the tow line is secured every step of the way," Eastman said. Fairbank gave him a thumbs up as he made sure to hook his suit to the newest tow line.

Shining their flashlights through the hall, the three men walked slowly forward, descending further and further into the ship. The blackness around them seemed endless, even with their flashlights highlighting the ribbed walls. Every few meters, Fairbank would have them stop so that he could test the stress of their tow line. When it was good to continue, he gave them an okay signal, and the men continued walking once more into the dark.

With every step forward, Lewis Fairbank felt dread and fear grow inside of him. The rib cage-like walls of the ship, the near endless darkness, and the fact that they'd reached the half-way point on their tow line were all started to form a gnawing sense of dread within him. He didn't have any solid reasons based on fact for his feelings, yet he knew that his instincts were warning him to turn back as soon as possible.

"Guys, maybe we should stop for a little bit," Fairbank said. The other two men stopped walking, indeed, so that they could turn around and look at him in incredulity. "Stop? Now?" Garfield asked him. "Yes," Fairbank replied uneasily. "This place gives me the creeps," he admitted.

"Okay, we'll keep going for thirty more minutes, and then we'll turn back if we don't find anything else. We'll chip away at part of the wall, put it in a box, and call it a day," Eastman said, hoping that would comfort the man. "Yeah. Okay. That sounds okay," Fairbank said, nodding his head inside his suit, relieved that they would soon be turning back.

As the men resumed walking, however, the walls began to stop curing and went straight. Soon, they came upon another junction up ahead, a T in the hall. "What's this?" Garfield asked as they approached the intersection.

Looking over to his right, Garfield saw an alcove with a hole in the bottom, just large enough for a probe to fit through. Walking over to the hole, he knelt down and shone his flashlight around the floor, looking down into the hole. Looking up at the wall, he paused as he saw a mural of some kind, one with an... unusual appearance. There was a figure depicted in the mural, one that was slim, and almost humanoid, yet... not.

"One-two-one?" Garfield asked himself quietly. Looking back down at the hole in the floor, Garfield called out for Eastman and Fairbank. The two men made their way to his side and knelt down by the hole. "Is there a way for us to get down there?" Garfield asked them.

"You'd have to cut that hole to make it larger," Eastman said. Garfield looked at him expectantly. "Do we have the tools to do that?" Garfield asked Eastman.

"We can cut out part of the floor to take back. Let's do that and then come back with more people later on," Eastman suggested. Garfield pursed his lips as he thought about Eastman's suggestion.

"Fine," Garfield said reluctantly.

Eastman looked up at Fairbank. Eastman set down the tool box that Fairbank had brought along with them. "Okay, we'll cut part of this floor out and then take it back," Eastman repeated as he quickly set to work. Fairbank soon joined him, with Garfield staying back, watching them as they worked.

After several minutes, the men had cut a large chunk of the floor away, increasing the size of the hole. Not so coincidentally, the hole was now large enough for a person to fit through. As Eastman and Fairbank lifted the chunk of floor up and over to the side so that they could begin cutting it into smaller pieces to fit into the containers, Garfield stepped closer to get a better look down through the hole, shining his flashlight down to see another level beneath them.

"Hey, Eastman?" Garfield asked, prompting the man to turn and face him. "Come over here," Garfield said. Eastman walked over to where Garfield was standing. Garfield quickly shone his light on the ribbed section of the wall next to them, noticing how the ribbing was horizontal instead of vertical. Carefully stepping around the hole, Garfield placed a gloved hand on the ribbing, seeing that it was thick enough and wide enough to grip.

Garfield turned to look at Eastman. "Eastman, how much tow line do we have left?" Garfield asked him. Eastman looked over at Fairbank and eyed the bundle he'd been carrying with them. Eastman then looked back over at the hole in the floor, before looking at Garfield.

"What are you suggesting?" Eastman asked him. "Well... no guts, no glory," Garfield said as he shone his flashlight down into the hole. Eastman slowly drew in a breath as he weighed his options. They'd managed to collect a piece of the floor, so there was really no reason to continue at this point. And yet... what if there was something worth far more that was down there?

"We should have enough," Eastman finally said. Garfield nodded his head in appreciation of Eastman's decision. He then stepped to the side as Eastman loosened the tow line and stepped over to the natural ladder. "Fairbank!" Eastman called out, catching the man's attention.

Fairbank looked over at him in surprise. "Eastman, what the hell are you doing!?" Fairbank asked him incredulously. "I'm going down a level. Get over here and hold the line for me," Eastman replied.

Fairbank shook his head in his helmet. "No. No, come on! We got what you wanted, now let's go back!" Fairbank protested. Eastman shook his head at Fairbank.

"Just get over here and watch the line. I'm just checking out the lower level so that we can map it out later. It'll be quick," Eastman said to the panicking man. Garfield glanced between the two men quietly.

"Bill, this is a bad idea," Fairbank said with a frown as he walked over and knelt down by the hole. Eastman began his descent, slowly climbing down the built-in ladder of the wall, holding his flashlight in one hand. Carefully, step by step, Eastman made his way into the darkness below, a small yellow dot in an infinite abyss of black bone and metal and rock. Eastman was a small light in the belly of some ancient beast, forgotten by the world for millennia... until now.

As Eastman continued down, he shone his flashlight around, seeing the cavernous shape and size of the level he had entered. The walls had a shine to them that the ones above seemed to lack as the light hit them. Aiming the flashlight downward, Eastman saw a small platform of sorts just another meter down. The platform appeared to be a few meters wide, and ahead of it was a great depression.

Eastman checked the tow line as he made his way to the platform, setting his boots down and shining his flashlight around at the cavern he had entered. The depression in front of him had a ridge going through the middle, just wide enough to walk on. Scanning the room further, Eastman saw more such ridges, dividers between long... trenches. The trenches stretched for one or two yards in one direction, and they were about a.

There were also thin, bone-like columns rising up and connecting the ridges with the ceiling. Looking down at the trenches, Eastman saw a blue oily-looking surface, with strange lumps just beneath it in a uniform pattern throughout each trench. There was at least one meter of space between each lump in all directions. Kneeling down and shining the light on the water, Eastman soon realized that the oily surface was actually a mist.

Speaking into his radio, Eastman began to describe the chamber to Garfield and Fairbank. "I... it's incredible and... maybe a little creepy," Eastman said as he looked around and took notice of the circular way the chamber curved around a large middle column that curved upward and connected with the ceiling. He stepped closer to the edge of the platform, noticing that part of what looked like a safety rail had been bent and folded over.

Scanning the rim of the platform, Eastman found several small lumps that appeared to be the remnants of what may have been a safety rail at some point. He slowly stood up and walked over to the other side again, setting down his flashlight as he inspected the collapsed rail, seeing that it just hovered above the surface of the blue mist. Kneeling over and bit further, Eastman reached a hand forward and managed to touch the top of the mist.

Seeing no visible reaction, he pressed his hand down further, breaking the mist and producing a strange noise. He jerked his hand back from the mist in surprise and scooted over, bumping into his flashlight and moving it closer to the edge of the platform. "What the hell is this?" he asked quietly as he took a closer look at the objects below the mist.

They had a leathery appearance and were oval-shaped, pointing upwards, with four closed petals at the top. They reminded Eastman of eggs, with the trenches being an open carton. Deciding that this was worth investigating later on, and with more people by his side, Eastman rose up and reached for his flashlight, only to bump it and send it falling into the mist below.

"Shit!" Eastman cursed as the flashlight tumbled down the trench and landed near one of the eggs, the light shining on it. Eastman glanced upwards at the light from his helmet and realized that it had nowhere near the range or power of the flashlight that he's just dropped. Gulping as he thought about his predicament, he informed Garfield and Fairbank of what had just happened.

" _Then come back up and we'll come back for it later,_ " Fairbank said over the suit's radio.

"I've never left a piece of equipment behind when I could avoid it," Eastman said. " _Come on, Bill! We've done enough already! Just get up here and we'll get more people to come back at a later time! I wanna get out of here, man! This place doesn't sit well with me,_ " Fairbank whined over the radio.

" _Mister Fairbank has a point. This place_ _ **is**_ _rather unsettling after a while,_ " Garfield said. Eastman nodded his head, but he wouldn't let himself return just yet. He had to retrieve that flashlight. He prided himself on having never lost a piece of equipment in his career. He wasn't going to start now.

"I'll be back up in just a minute. My helmet's light will suffice for what I need to do," Eastman said as he carefully slackened the tow line until he was sure that he had just enough left to get to the flashlight. It would be close, but he could make it.

Carefully crawling over to the edge of the platform, and holding onto the bent and fallen rail as as support, Eastman slowly lowered himself down into the mist, breaking through it. He ignored the strange high-pitched whine produced as he broke the mist, and continued downward, checking his tow line as he stepped onto the soil below. He glanced down in confusion at how soft the ground was beneath him.

Carefully stepping between the eggs, taking notice to avoid stepping on what appeared to be tendrils spreading out from under them, Eastman sucked in a breath and held it as he approached his flashlight. He was less than an arm's length away when he felt the tow line tug at him. He looked back and saw that the line had become rigid.

He checked the bundle and realized that there was no more line left to give. He knew better than to try stretching out too far, potentially damaging his suit. Frowning and biting his lip, Eastman reached down and slowly unhooked himself from the line, holding onto it firmly with one hand as he angled himself and stepped closer to the flashlight.

Leaning forward just a bit, Eastman just managed to touch the tip of the handle, before he lost his grip and slipped forward, bumping into the egg. He quickly grabbed the flashlight and scooted back from the egg, feeling around for the cable. He quickly found it and secured his hook to it once more.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Eastman stood up, just as he saw the egg become translucent, showing something fluttering around inside. He glanced back over at the platform before shining his light on the egg. Soon, the top petals of the egg opened with a creaking noise.

Eastman gulped and quickly turned around, deciding to cut his losses and regroup with the others. He had just made it to the fallen safety rail as he heard a noise coming from the egg, prompting him to glance back and see a white and pink flesh-like substance pulsating within the egg. "Mm, uh-uh. Nope. Fuck _this_ ," Eastman muttered to himself as he quickly climbed up onto the ledge, pulling himself up.

Eastman stood up and began marching back over to the ladder, before he was jerked back. He turned around and saw that his tow line had become snagged by the fallen safety rail. Eastman quickly made his way over to the line, before he heard a skittering sound. He stopped moving, holding his breath as he carefully aimed his flashlight over to the egg. The flesh-like substance had either disappeared or deflated.

Eastman gulped as he slowly turned to look back at the tow-line. He knew that it wouldn't be the safest option, but he _could_ conceivably make his way back up without the line. Slowly reaching down to unhook himself, he heard the skittering sound as he saw something move near the egg, disappearing behind another one under the mist. His breathing and pulse quickened as he kept his eyes faced outward, opened wide and scanning the perimeter of the platform.

The room was quiet for a moment, and the the skittering sound resumed, and Eastman quickened his pace as he fumbled with the hook. He almost had it, until he realized that he'd only unhooked part of a tool belt as he glanced down. "Shit!" he cursed under his breath, before he heard the skittering sound again.

He jerked his head up and gulped. His heart was racing, pounding away inside his rib-cage at a thousand miles per hour, and beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he heard the skittering sound drawing closer. "Oh shit. Oh shit! _Oh shit!_ " Eastman swore over and over again as he quickly unhooked himself from the towline.

He turned around and ran over to the wall, aiming his flashlight around wildly as he did. As soon as he reached the ladder, he started pulling himself up. "Eastman! What's going on? Why aren't you hooked to the tow line!?" Fairbank called out to him. Eastman was about to answer when he heard the skittering sound again, this time even closer than before. Closer, and closer it drew, causing him to panic as he increased his rate of climbing, only to lose his footing as a result.

"Eastman!" Fairbank cried out as Eastman fell back onto the floor of the platform, landing on his back with a thud. He let out a pained gasp as he screwed his eyes shut before opening them again. Everything was quiet for a moment, and then the skittering sound resumed. Eastman opened his eyes and glanced around, looking from side to side, before finally looking up.

A pale-skinned creature with eight finger-like legs and no visible eyes quickly raced towards him, a long tail whipping in the air behind it. Eastman gasped in fright as the creature lunged towards him. He let out a shout as it landed on his helmet, and he desperately struggled to get it off. The creature quickly turned itself around to orient itself with his face before spraying a liquid of some kind at the helmet, quickly dissolving the face plate while simultaneously shoving a long vaginal-looking tube forward, forcing it into Eastman's mouth and down his throat. Eastman let out a gurgled scream as he desperately grabbed at the creature with his gloved hands, before his struggling soon ceased and his body became slack.

"Eastman!?" Fairbank called out desperately as he witnessed the attack, while Garfield looked on with only a cursory appearance of surprise on his face. "Eastman, answer me! Bill, answer me! Bill! _Biiiilllll!_ "

The only response was silence.

* * *

Author's Notes: As some of you have noticed, the egg chamber I've described is much smaller than the one seen in the original ALIEN (1979). In my personal opinion, I think that the derelict Engineer ship in ALIEN was actually sitting on top of another Engineer facility of some kind and was still connected to it when things went sideways. The egg chamber is bigger than the ship itself if you do a proper size comparison. That's what I believe, personally.

The Engineer Juggernaut in this story, however, has a smaller payload of eggs because it isn't connected to any such facility and its bays are all locked and closed. And, yes, the holes in parts of the ship are indeed holes caused by Xenomorph blood. The crew of this engineer vessel also had an outbreak, but the sections containing the dead crew and Xenomorph fossils are in sections that are blocked off to our cast for the time being.

These areas _will_ be explored later, albeit without as much stupidity. Also, I know that Weyland-Yutani is evil and all, but the destruction of the Nostromo and its crew is mostly Kane's fault. He was the one who chose to _stupidly_ poke his head into an open egg. If he weren't so stupid, he would have at least stayed back a few feet and tried to get up onto that ridge again. And he _had_ a weapon with him, if you pay attention to that weird-looking space pistol he's holding when he first approaches the egg.

I also wrote this chapter, especially the latter section, while listening to the late Jerry Goldsmith's original intended score for ALIEN. It definitely helped me to get in the mood for writing that section.

In any case, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or the story so far in your reviews. Tell me what worked, what didn't work, and what could be improved upon. Do not hold back in your criticisms.


	4. FACEHUGGER

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

UPDATED 04/26/2017: I've fixed some spelling and grammar errors found throughout the chapter. Also, I have changed the description of the facehugger from pale or tan-skinned to pink with creamy yellow highlights, so as to match up better with, well, "you know what" in later chapters.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 04: FACEHUGGER**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 16th, 2137**

 **TAROS STATION #4 OPERATIONS CENTER**

Sitting in his chair while going over some spreadsheets, Fred Marcus heard a loud beep. He glanced over at one of the monitors and saw an emergency message on it. "Martin," Marcus said, getting the man's attention as he glanced away from his game of solitaire on a spare console. "What the hell?" Martin asked as he stood up from his station and walked over to the terminal with the emergency message on the screen.

Marcus reached over and grabbed the headset from Martin. "Ack!" Martin cried out as the cord yanked on his shirt. Marcus saw that the emergency message was from the air station just outside of the elevator in mine shaft C. "This is Operations Director Marcus, who is this?" he asked into the headset.

" _This is Fairbank! Sir, we've run into some trouble down here!_ " Fairbank cried out in a panicked tone. "Fairbank, what do you mean by trouble? What's happened?" Marcus asked him urgently. " _Eastman; he... something inside the ship attacked him!_ " Fairbank exclaimed. "Say that again? Something... attacked him? Something alive?" Marcus asked in confusion.

Martin looked at one of the monitors for the elevator cameras and saw two men outside of the elevator doors. One was standing up, while the other was lying down, with something on his helmet. "Hey, Fred. Take a look at this," Martin said as he grabbed the lapels of Marcus's shirt and tugged, forcing the man to look at the screen.

"Why is he on the ground?" Marcus asked himself quietly. "Fairbank, I need you to be calm. Who else is out there with you right now _?_ " Marcus asked him. " _The corporate suit. Garfield! We went into the ship to collect some pieces of the wall for study, and then we found a hole, and Eastman lost his flashlight and tried to get it back, and this thing attached itself to his face!_ " Fairbank explained in a panicked tone.

Marcus took off the headset and covered the microphone. "Martin, go get Burns or someone and have them go down to the mining elevator and keep the doors closed. Have Elliot get some equipment and see if he can go outside to help," Marcus said. Martin nodded his head and stood up from his chair, running out of the room.

Marcus then put the headset back on. "Okay, Fairbank, I need you to stay outside with the others until we can get Elliot out there with some medical equipment. Do not attempt to return inside," Marcus said.

" _But what about Eastman!? He could die out here!_ " Fairbank exclaimed. "Fairbank, you know how quarantine works. Twenty-four hours for decontamination," Marcus said firmly. " _But Eastman-_ " "Put Garfield on the line," Marcus demanded. " _What?_ " Fairbank asked him.

"I said, put Garfield on the line. I want to talk to him," Marcus said. Fairbank agreed to retrieve Garfield, leaving the line static for a few minutes until Garfield spoke into it. " _Hello, Mister Marcus,_ " Garfield said.

"Hello, Mister Garfield. You got one of my men into a bad situation," Marcus said darkly. " _He chose to venture down into the hole on his own. He could have easily told me off and returned with pieces of the wall like we'd planned,_ " Garfield said defensively. "What did you want with pieces of the ship?" Marcus asked him.

" _Physical samples to return home with. I'd be in for a bonus myself if I had something to show for this trip,_ " Garfield admitted. Marcus scowled at the admission, but held his tongue as he restrained himself from making a nasty retort.

"Okay, I need to know more about Eastman's condition. What exactly has attached itself to him?" Marcus asked Garfield. " _Some kind of... alien life form,_ " Garfield said hesitantly.

"Alien? Is it hostile?" Marcus asked. " _It's attached itself to Eastman's face! What exactly would you call that!? I mean, it could be frenching him or it could be eating his flesh! I don't know!_ " Garfield retorted defensively. "So, it's less hostile than you at the moment," Marcus commented out loud, slapping his hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

"Is there any other sign of injury on Eastman?" Marcus asked after a minute. " _What do you mean?_ " Garfield asked in return. Marcus took a breath to calm himself.

"I mean, is there any blood? Anything that looks severe... other than the face-thing?" Marcus asked him. " _Well, he did fall onto his back, so I think that his suit's air supply could be in trouble soon,_ " Garfield replied, remembering the dents he saw in the external portions of the air system.

"Shit," Marcus muttered. "Okay, you're inside that air station with its own little airlock, right?" Marcus asked him. " _Yes. You want me to bring Eastman in here so that he can survive if his suit's damaged?_ " Garfield asked him. "Yes," Marcus replied. "Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do."

" _You want me to get him inside?_ " Garfield asked him. "Yes, get him inside," Marcus said firmly. " _I understand. He'll be inside shortly,_ " Garfield said before hanging up.

Marcus took off the headset and let out a sigh. "Jesus H. Christ!" he spat out in anger and frustration as he kicked a chair. "Shit!"

* * *

 **THE MINING ELEVATOR LOBBY**

Alexandra Burns leaned against the wall next to the main airlock doors, wearing her usual attire of a brown flight jacket and a cowboy hat. "Make sure that no one comes in or out," she said to herself with a British accent. "Unless he's a knight from Camelot," she added with a snicker as she remembered a scene from a movie she'd watched with her parents countless times during her teenage years.

Her jovial attitude changed, however, when she heard a mechanical noise and looked up to see the lights on the airlock doors changing colors. "What the... oh shit!" Burns exclaimed as she realized what was happening. She ran over to the nearest comm-station and called the operations center. "Marcus, someone's using the elevator!" Burns exclaimed.

" _But I told... that son of a bitch! Keep those airlock doors sealed! Do NOT let them inside,_ " Marcus barked over the phone. Burns nodded her head before hanging up the phone and rushing back over to the airlock doors. She took out her access card and slid it through the reader before punching in a lockdown code.

She hit one wrong button by mistake and soon had to redo the sequence again, entering her authorization code as the lights on the side of the elevator lit up, one by one, indicating which level the elevator was on as it neared the top. The final light at the top of the level indicator had just been lit when she managed to lock down the elevator. She rested her head against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief.

The communications phone on the wall next to her soon rang, interrupting her reverie. Picking up the phone for internal elevator communications, Burns listened to a slightly muffled voice yelling out over it. " _This man needs immediate medical attention! Whoever's listening, you have to let us out!_ "

"I can't do that," Burns said sharply. "We have a quarantine procedure for a reason. Now, we can begin decompression and give you air in there while we prepare some emergency medical supplies from one of the medical kiosks in the lobby, but we can't open these doors until the area is locked down tight," Burns explained.

" _Eastman could die before that happens, dammit!_ " Garfield snapped. Burns slowly drew a breath before letting it out. "I... I know," she said with a frown. "But I _can't_ jeopardize the rest of the station," she said resolutely.

"You'd do the same in my position," she added.

" _This is one of your own men! Don't you care what happens to him!?_ " Garfield shrieked over the phone. "Yes, Mister Garfield, I care. But I also care about the other people in the station as well," Burns replied firmly.

A few minutes later, one of the doors to the room slid open and Elliot walked inside, pulling a gurney and pushing a tray with medical supplies on it. He looked over at Burns after closing the door. "Go get a pressure suit on or leave the room," he said to her. Burns nodded her head and removed her jacket and hat before grabbing a pressure suit from one of the lockers.

When she had suited up and attached an air hose to one of the air stations attached to the wall, she retrieved her hat and placed it on her helmet. Elliot looked at her incredulously before making his way over and grabbing his own suit. After making sure that the suit's air supply was filled, he began locking down the room.

"I have a containment wrap we can place over him so that we can move him to the medical lab. But wait for me to give you the signal," Elliot said to her. Burns nodded her head in understanding as she waited for Elliot's signal to unlock the doors to the elevator.

When Elliot had his gear ready, he gave her an OK sign. Burns nodded her head and entered the de-locking code for the elevator, before entering the access code to open the doors. The doors slowly slid open, and the two conscious men inside looked at her. Burns glanced over at Elliot, who had the gurney set low to the floor.

Elliot looked at Garfield and Fairbank before gesturing for them bring Eastman over to him. "Come on, let's get him on the gurney," Elliot said as he helped the two men carry Eastman's body out of the elevator. Burns waited until they had exited the elevator before closing the doors.

* * *

 **THE MEDICAL LAB...**

Elliot made sure that the dual locking transparent doors of the medical lab, which effectively formed a small airlock, were both shut securely before doing anything else. He then made his way over to the doors that separated the lab from the infirmary and locked them down as well before returning to the gurney. Looking at Burns, Fairbank, and Garfield, Elliot ordered them to keep their suits on as he opened the containment wrap and uncovered Eastman.

He was just preparing to removed Eastman's pressure suit when he heard Marcus's voice over the intercom. " _Attention, all personnel. The station's medical lab is currently under lockdown, as is the mine until further notice. I want Lieutenant Goodwin to meet me outside the the medical lab in half an hour. All other personnel are to remain where they are until further notice. Thank you._ "

Elliot glanced over at Garfield. "Well, I think we know why he's coming down here," Elliot said to Garfield. Garfield remained silent as Elliot resumed his task of removing Eastman from his pressure suit. "Burns, I may need your assistance," Elliot said after a few minutes.

"What do you need?" she asked him. "Grab a cutting tool. Scissors, a scalpel, whatever. But be careful with it. The helmet is stuck, and the rest of the suit won't come off without it," Elliot explained. Burns nodded her head and began rummaging through various cupboards and cabinets in her search for a blade.

Elliot kept the medical lab almost immaculately orderly, and that meant nothing was lying out and about when not in use.

Eventually, Burns found a pair of heavy-duty scissors inside a cupboard. She grabbed them by the blades and walked over to Elliot. "Here," she said as she handed them to Elliot. Elliot looked at the instrument as he retrieved it from her hand and began cutting around the helmet section of the suit. "This may take a while," Elliot said as the material of the suit proved itself to be very thick, making the cutting process rather arduous.

In fact, it took nearly half an hour for Elliot to cut around the helmet area, and it was right as he was removing the rest of the suit that Marcus arrived outside of the lab's doors. The lab's wall-mounted phone/intercom system rang, with a red LED flashing above it. "Burns, please answer that," Elliot requested.

The pilot quickly made her way over to the com system, brushing past Garfield and Fairbank. "Hey there, Fred," Burns said through her suit into the phone. " _Burns? Burns, please put Mister Garfield on the line,_ " Marcus requested with restrained anger in his voice.

"Sure thing, Fred. Hey, Garfield! Get your ass over here," Burns called out. Garfield quickly marched over to the com system. "Hello, Marcus," Garfield said over the com.

" _Hello to you, too, Garfield. I told you to get Eastman into the com-shack that was in the mine. You've put this entire station at risk by violating quarantine procedures,_ " Marcus said with restrained anger.

"Eastman's life was on the line!" Garfield retorted heatedly. " _And just who was it that wanted to go inside the ship again in the first place!?_ " Marcus asked him in response. Garfield almost growled in frustration before he took a breath to calm himself.

"Fine. I am responsible for his being in the mine. But that's _why_ I brought him back to the station as soon as possible!" Garfield exclaimed. There was a pause before Marcus spoke to him again.

" _Is that so? In that case, you'd better get cozy, because you ain't leavin' this station until we've gotten that thing off of Eastman and made sure that he's okay,_ " Marcus said over the com. His tone of voice brokered no room for argument. Garfield merely nodded his head in reluctant understanding.

Meanwhile, Elliot was almost finished removing the helmet from Eastman's body. "Aaaanndd... presto!" Elliot said as he finally removed the helmet. Fairbank and Burns looked on as Elliot held the two pieces of the helmet in his gloved hands before stepping back to view the pink-skinned organism that had attached itself to Eastman's face.

"Jesus Christ," Burns muttered under her breath as she looked at the sight. "Are those... fingers?" she asked as she saw the creature's thin bony limbs wrapped around the sides of Eastman's head. Behind both sets of limbs, just before the tail protruded, were what looked like bladders of some kind. The bladders were slowly inflating and deflating in a rhythmic fashion, coinciding with the rise and fall of Eastman's chest. The creature had no visible eyes, and the tail itself seemed to be segmented in appearance. While the whole of the creature was pink in color, there were faint creamy yellow-colored bands in certain places, such as the knuckles of each finger-limb, and every other segment of the segmented tail. She had never seen anything like it in her life. This thing was, for lack of a better word, _alien_.

Taking a closer look at the creature, Elliot looked down at the creature's tail, which was wrapped around Eastman's throat. Elliot narrowed his eyes at the sight. "Clever little bastard," he muttered, causing Burns and Fairbank to look at him.

"What?" Fairbank asked him, confused. Elliot glanced up at him before pointing at the tail. "It's already got itself in a defensive position," Elliot explained with a frown.

"Is there any way that we can get it off?" Burns asked him. Elliot sucked in a breath before letting out a sigh of contemplation. "Well... I think we should get him on the examination table first," Elliot said as he walked over to the first exam cabinet. There was a keypad on the side of it, along with a small LED screen. Elliot pressed a few keys and opened the lid of the cabinet before pressing another set of keys to make the examination table slowly protrude out of it in a clock-wise fashion, slowly spinning until it stopped in the center, facing outwards.

"Let's get him on the table," Elliot said before moving forward. Burns and Fairbank both helped lift Eastman off of the gurney and onto the table. Burns accidentally touched one of the limbs of the facehugger as she lifted Eastman's head, causing the tail to coil tighter around the comatose man's throat.

"Shit!" Burns hissed as she saw the tail moving, prompting Garfield to pause his conversation with Marcus and look over in their direction. "What? What happened?" Elliot asked her with concern. "I touched it... and it wrapped its tail around him tighter," she explained.

"Just get him onto the table," Elliot said as the trio gently set Eastman's body down on said table. Elliot walked over to the control panel again and pressed a key for the table to spin back into the cabinet. Burns stepped back as Garfield walked up behind her.

"So, what happened?" Garfield asked, causing Burns to jump slightly. "You shit! Don't sneak up on me," Burns spat at him angrily. "Sorry," Garfield muttered.

After the table was secured inside the cabinet, Elliot pressed another key and closed the cabinet's transparent plexiglass door. After it closed shut, he opened a small flap covering the rest of the control panel and pressed several more keys, activating the scanner inside. Elliot walked over towards the front of the case and looked at a monitor above it to see the results of the scan as it progressed.

After a minute, the screen showed a CAT-scan of the facehugger attached to Eastman's head, with a long, dark tube being seen running through his esophagus, all the way down into his chest. Elliot raised an eyebrow at the sight, Burns scrunched her face in confusion, Fairbank stared blankly, and Garfield quietly inhaled with a knowing look on his face, but he made certain to cover his expression so that no one would notice.

"What the hell is it doing?" Burns asked. Elliot looked back at the cabinet, seeing Eastman's chest slowly rise and fall. Looking back at the screen, Elliot furrowed his brows and frowned.

Letting out a sigh, Elliot made his way over to the com system near the doors. "Marcus, do you want me to attempt to remove the alien from Eastman?" Elliot asked him. " _I need to know what all is going on first. How is it attached to him? What does it look like? How risky would it be?_ " Marcus asked him.

"I'll need time to perform a greater examination of the organism. But, if you want to know more, you should probably come in here," Elliot replied. " _Are the others okay? Are Burns and Fairbank at risk of being contaminated?_ " Marcus asked him.

"Neither of them were exposed to the atmosphere along with the organism. They've been in their suits the entire time," Elliot replied. There was a moment of silence before Marcus spoke again.

" _Alright. Send them over to the infirmary. I still want you to check on them, but tell them that they can remove their suits once they've exited the room. I need to know what the risk of contamination is if I open this door,_ " Marcus said. Elliot nodded his head in agreement.

"Give me a couple of hours to examine this... thing, and I might be able to see if it harbors anything contagious. What should I do with Garfield?" Elliot replied. " _Keep him with you. Let him join the others in the infirmary, but don't let him leave until I give the OK. Understand?_ " Marcus responded.

"Yes. I understand," Elliot replied with a curt nod inside his helmet before hanging up. He turned around to face the others. "Burns, Fairbank, and Garfield; you may head into the infirmary and remove your pressure suits. Please keep the doors shut tight and do not leave the infirmary until I perform a brief examination on each of you," Elliot said firmly. The trio nodded their heads before walking over to the dual airlock doors between the infirmary and the medical lab, walking inside and waiting for the lab-side door to close before opening the infirmary-side door.

Walking over to the examination cabinet, Elliot pressed a key and opened the cover before the table slowly spun outward again. He walked over to a cabinet and removed a set of surgical tools and some syringes. He prepared his tools on a small tray with wheels before wheeling it over to the table.

He then walked over to the airlock doors and made certain that they were locked before returning to Eastman's side. Taking a syringe, he tested it to make sure that there was no air stuck in it before grabbing a wash cloth and placing it next to Eastman's head. He gently pressed the needle against one of the facehugger's legs, scanning it for signs of reaction.

Looking over at the tail, which was still wrapped tightly around Eastman's throat, Elliot closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Here we go," he told himself as he gently pushed the needle tip forward, piercing the creature's hide ever so slightly. He checked the tail again before pushing forward more, when something unexpected happened.

The point where he had inserted the needle shot out a yellow-green substance. The substance landed on the right arm of his suit and it began to eat away at it. Elliot's eyes widened as he brought back the syringe, only to see that the needle had been corroded and rendered unusable as he dropped the syringe onto the tray and quickly began taking off his suit.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Elliot hissed as he quickly removed the suit and its layers before stepping away to the side. He quickly grabbed a pair of tongs and held the suit off of the floor as he watched the hole grow larger in the arm, before the gloved area fell to the floor and continued dissolving. He quickly grabbed it and placed it on top of the rest of the suit to keep it from hitting the floor.

Elliot quickly opened a nearby drawer and retrieved a small carton of baking soda. He then returned to the dissolving suit and opened the carton before pouring a small amount onto the suit, slowing down the harsh chemical before it stopped eating away at what was left of the pressure suit. Only parts of the air supply system were still intact, along with some outer portions of the fabric and other materials.

"Son of a bitch," Elliot muttered as he stood up.

" _Elliot! What's going on? What's happening!?_ " Marcus cried out over the intercom. Elliot walked over to the com system. "Fred, I'm afraid that removing this thing from Eastman is going to be more difficult than I'd anticipated," Elliot said.

" _Why? What happened?_ " Marcus asked him urgently. Elliot rubbed his temples with the palm of his free hand before mussing his hair. "Well... the damn thing appears to have a highly corrosive base for blood," Elliot replied.

" _It... what?_ " Marcus asked him, confused. Elliot inhaled before letting out a sigh. "Its blood, Marcus, is highly corrosive. It ate through my pressure suit and would have eaten through the floor if I hadn't doused it with water," Elliot explained.

" _It's got acid for blood?_ " Marcus asked him. "Possibly. I'd classify it more as a corrosive base, actually," Elliot responded. "I neutralized it... to a degree at least, with some baking soda, which is amphoteric, so... it could be either one at this point," Elliot added.

" _So... what are you gonna do now?_ " Marcus asked Elliot after a minute of silence. Elliot leaned against the wall and looked over at Eastman and the facehugger. "Well... I guess I'm gonna have to just carefully secure samples of its skin and check for contagions that way, although with how its blood behaves, I'm beginning to wonder if it's at all possible for this thing to carry any micro-bacteria," Elliot replied thoughtfully.

"Still... I'm going to need a few hours to run some tests, on both this thing _and_ Eastman," Elliot added with a sigh. " _However long you need, Elliot. Just make sure that this station is safe from contamination,_ " Marcus said over the phone. "Understood. Should I let the others leave the infirmary yet?" Elliot asked him in response.

" _You said that they weren't exposed to this... thing, right?_ " Marcus asked him. "That is correct," Elliot replied. " _Okay then. Let them out. When you're done with your tests, let me know. I'll have Goodwin post someone outside the room for security, just in case,_ " Marcus said.

"Thank you. I should have some answers in a few hours. Until then," Elliot said before hanging up.

* * *

 **THE RECREATION ROOM, THIRTY MINUTES LATER...**

"Wait, wait, wait... say what?" Anna Torres asked incredulously from her spot by the pool table. Anna Torres, the station's main electrical engineer and computer guru, had dark red hair, a mole on her left shoulder, and dark brown eyes. "An alien life form attached itself to Eastman's face," Burns said. "An alien? Are you fucking kidding me?" Jeff Green asked incredulously.

"Right. You'll accept the existence of the alien ship, but _not_ a living alien itself," Vince Hoffman snarked. "Well, that ship's been buried in this moon for thousands of years! How could anything in there still be alive after all this time?" Green rebuked.

"He's got a point," Torres said as she leaned against the pool table. "'Cause it's different than us, see? 'Cause it's a _fucking alien_ ," Burns said harshly from the stool that she was sitting on, after taking a shot of her whiskey, a bottle of J & B Rare Blend, catching everyone's attention. She had grabbed her jacket and cowboy hat after leaving the infirmary and was now wearing them again, with her cowboy hat resting on the back of her neck as it hung by a string around her throat.

"Um, should you really be drinking at a time like this?" Bowman asked her. Burns looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a frown before taking another drink as a response. "Right," Bowman said under his breath with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Are there more of those things in the ship?" Hoffman asked. "Possibly," Garfield said from where he was sitting. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Well, Eastman did say that he saw several trenches full of egg-like objects covered with a blue mist," he elaborated.

"What the hell was Eastman thinking?" Green asked. "He dropped his flashlight and went to retrieve it," Garfield answered. Fairbank let out a sigh of frustration from his spot against the wall. "Yeah. He always did have this compulsion for not leaving equipment behind if he could help it," he said.

Everyone was relatively quiet for a minute after that, until Green spoke up again. "What's gonna happen to us?" he asked. Everyone looked at him curiously. "Well, you know... has Elliot found any diseases on the... uh..."

"The facehugger?" Garfield suggested for him, prompting everyone else to look at him curiously. "Facehugger?" Burns asked him. "Well, you saw it, Burns. What else would you call that thing?" Garfield replied, causing her to subtly nod her head in silent agreement.

"Yeah, the face... _hugger_. I mean, has Elliot found any diseases on it yet? Is it carrying a plague or something? Are we all doomed?" Green elaborated after catching his wind again.

"When Elliot finishes his tests on the facehugger, he'll let us know what he's found," Garfield said confidently as he looked at the floor. Bowman raised an eyebrow at his superior, curious as to why the man had seemingly changed his opinion on the droid. Garfield glanced over at him and saw his curious expression. "What?" Garfield asked him.

"Earlier, you weren't exactly fond of Elliot. What's with this confidence in him all of the sudden?" Bowman asked him. Garfield shrugged his shoulders. "I was merely unhappy that I wasn't told about him being an android who... doesn't have the most polished history," Garfield said. "That being said, I appreciate his efforts to keep us safe from harm," he added.

Bowman tilted his head quizzically, but otherwise said nothing as he processed Garfield's words, not quite finding himself able to take the man at face value.

"So... I mean, like, are we gonna have to go into quarantine or something?" Green asked again, gesticulating with his arms.

"Like the suit said, wait for Elliot to tell us what he's found. Then we'll go from there," Burns said before glancing around the room. Milo and Rains were both sitting down near an air hockey table in the far corner of the room. "Yo, Rains, how's the shuttle coming along?" Burns asked the engineer.

"Shuttle's doing fine. We just started the third automated systems check before heading up here. It'll be another seven hours or so before it's done," Rains replied. Burns nodded her head before taking another shot from her whiskey bottle. "Uh, do remember to sober up before the final systems check, please," Milo asked.

"Yeah, this is my last sip," Burns said before capping the bottle. "Happy?" she asked as she looked at the two engineers. Milo and Rains both looked at each other before nodding their heads in unison. "Mm-hm, yeah. Yeah, we're happy now," Rains said with a smirk. Burns rolled her eyes and flipped them off in response.

"Right back at ya," Rains said as he returned the gesture with a grin.

* * *

 **THE MEDICAL LAB**

Elliot looked at the monitor in front of him as it analyzed the skin samples that he had collected from the facehugger. He'd very carefully scraped small pieces of it from its back and one of the digits, making sure to avoid going too deep. The data on the screen showed an interesting combination of elements.

"Fascinating," Elliot said to himself. The facehugger was shedding its cells and replacing them with polarized silicone, making it a remarkably durable organism. "Highly adaptable," Elliot muttered to himself before glancing over at the alien. "But... just what is your purpose?" he asked rhetorically before returning his attention to the screen.

He brought up the scanned images from earlier and studied them. "Why are you keeping him alive?" he asked under his breath as he glanced back at the facehugger again. "What exactly are you doing with him?"

Furrowing his brows, Elliot got up and walked over to a cabinet to retrieve a wrapped set of blood sample equipment. Taking the needles, syringe, and capsules out very gently, Elliot prepared to take a blood sample, not from the facehugger, but from Eastman. It was time to see if Eastman was carrying any known pathogens or other contaminants from his contact with the alien.

 **THREE HOURS LATER...**

"Yes, I'm sure," Elliot said into the com system. "There's no sign of bacterial contamination or other known pathogens. The computer analysis was extremely thorough," he continued. "You can come on down and help me try to remove it at your convenience. I'll be waiting. Oh, and one more thing. Um, please bring Lieutenant Goodwin and one other person of your choosing with you," he said before hanging up.

Elliot looked back over at the contained examination cabinet, where he had placed Eastman and the facehugger two hours earlier. Walking over to a large cabinet and a set of drawers, he opened the doors and retrieved some gowns and face masks, along with some goggles that were in desperate need of being cleaned. "How did I let you get this dirty?" Elliot asked as he took the goggles over to a nearby washing station.

Fifteen minutes later, the doors slid open and Marcus entered the room, with Garfield and Goodwin trailing behind him. Lieutenant Samantha Goodwin, the head of security for the station, stood at 5 feet and 3 inches tall. She had curly jet black hair that was cut short to fit under her cap. She wore the standard blue security uniform with patch on the breast showing her rank. She was also carrying an extended-prong taser, about 2.5 feet long, in her hands. There was a rubber cap on the end of the taser for safety, and she was wearing gloves with rubber pads for extra safety.

Walking over to the contained examination cabinet, Marcus and Goodwin looked inside at the comatose body of Eastman, along with the facehugger currently attached to his face. "What the hell is that thing?" Goodwin asked with a grimace on her face. "It's... an alien," Garfield said in a matter-of-fact manner.

Turning around from the washing station, Elliot prepared to greet the others, when he noticed that the doors were still open. "Were you people raised in a barn? Close the damn doors!" Elliot snapped at them. Goodwin and Garfield both looked at Elliot in surprise at his tone, while Marcus simply glared at the droid before walking over the control panel and pressing the button to close them manually.

"You should have told us that the inner door controls were adjusted for manual usage," Marcus said as he walked over to Elliot. "I... I'm sorry, Fred. I forgot," Elliot said apologetically. "Yeah, well... try to remember to tell us next time, okay? I'm not fond of getting yelled at for something I wasn't told about," Marcus said in response.

"So, how are we supposed to remove this thing from Eastman's face?" Goodwin asked. Elliot walked over to her and handed her a pair of clean goggles. He handed the other pair to Marcus, leaving only himself and Garfield without any eye protection. "An attempt at removal with only one of us will be next to impossible, so... I think that if three of us work together to pry this thing off of Eastman, with one of us handling the tail, we can get it off," Elliot said.

"Goodwin, if possible, I'd like for you to use that taser on the creature after we remove it, to stun it into submission," Elliot said.

"Why not have her stun the damn thing with it now? It might make it easier for us to remove the thing," Marcus suggested. "Because the creature is still physically attached to Eastman," Elliot replied. "The electrical current could flow through the creature and into his body. If the facehugger doesn't choke him to-" "Wait, the what?" Goodwin asked him mid-sentence.

"The facehugger," Elliot said. "Face...hugger?" Marcus asked him. Garfield silently glanced between Marcus, Goodwin, and Elliot. _Strange minds think alike_ , Garfield thought to himself as he realized that Elliot had come up with the name by himself, without any contact with Weyland-Yutani resources or personnel to provide it to him.

Garfield then cleared his throat. "In the man-um, _droid's_ defense, what else would you call that thing?" Garfield asked the others. Marcus and Goodwin looked back over at Eastman before returning their attention to Elliot and Garfield.

"Well, I guess that's as good a name as any," Marcus said. "So, if we manage to remove the... facehugger, Elliot, what do we do with it afterward?" Marcus then asked the physician. "I have a containment unit that we can place it in for the time being. There's no way to properly sedate it, however, as its... _blood_ , is highly corrosive to most of the materials in this room," Elliot replied.

"Wait... this thing bleeds _acid!?_ " Goodwin asked him incredulously. "Well, I'm leaning more towards it being a base, but either way its blood _is_ highly corrosive," Elliot said. "Anyway, as I was trying to say, if the facehugger doesn't choke Eastman to death with its tail first, then the electric current certainly will," Elliot finished.

Everyone slowly nodded their heads in agreement. "We have to remove this thing intact," Elliot added firmly. "Right. So... what exactly do you have in mind?" Marcus asked Elliot.

* * *

Wearing surgical gloves and a face mask, Garfield slowly reached for the tip of the facehugger's tail, while Elliot and Marcus slowly attempted to grip their hands around the legs of the creature. Marcus gulped as he slowly tried pulling the nearest finger away from Eastman's face, while Garfield slowly attempted to get his gloved hand underneath the tail and between Eastman's throat. Only the very tip of the tail was pliable at first.

"Come on," Garfield muttered with furrowed brows as he used both hands in an attempt to pry the tail off of Eastman's throat. As he slowly managed to get his right hand fully between Eastman's throat and the bottom of the tail, clenching his fast around the tip, Garfield felt the rest of the muscular appendage begin to tighten itself again, crushing his hand against Eastman's throat.

"It's on to us," Garfield warned through clenched teeth, glancing up at Marcus and Elliot. Focusing on their tasks, Elliot and Marcus nodded their heads in understanding. "Just keep it from asphyxiating him," Elliot ordered him.

Elliot attempted to grab two legs and push them together to get them off, but they wouldn't budge, and Garfield let out a hiss as the tail tightened around his hand and Eastman's throat once more. Glaring at the offending appendages, Elliot heard Marcus swear as he, too, failed to remove the limbs.

Elliot attempted to remove a leg again, this time seeing some of the skin on Eastman's face stretch slightly as he pulled it up. He quickly let go of the limb. "It's not coming off without his face attached to it," Elliot said.

"Um, I can't feel my hand anymore," Garfield whined. Elliot and Marcus both looked over at him and then at Eastman's throat, where the tail was crushing Garfield's right hand. "Keep your hand there. That's the most progress any of us have made so far," Elliot said.

"Well, if I hold it there much longer, I think this thing's gonna keep it as a souvenir," Garfield retorted.

Elliot looked down at the facehugger's legs again. "Maybe... if we had some kind of lubricant, or perhaps a change in temperature," Elliot muttered to himself. Soon, an idea formed in his synthetic brain. "Marcus, stay where you are," Elliot said as he marched around the table and over to the washing station.

Elliot knelt down and opened a cabinet under the sink to retrieve a bucket and some sponges, as well as some wash cloths. He placed the bucket in the sink and began running the water, setting it to warm. The others looked at him questioningly.

"Elliot, what are you doing?" Goodwin asked him. Elliot waited until the bucket was filled before giving a reply. "I'm going to try something new," he said as he carefully carried the bucket over to the examination table and placed it on a nearby tray. He partially submerged a washcloth before applying the wet section to one of the alien limbs.

Elliot began rubbing the entire limb with the warm wet cloth before gently placing his free hand's finger around the limb. He pressed the soaked cloth further against the limb to let the water seep under the limb and between the skin. "Come on. That's it," Elliot said quietly as he slowly began lifting the lone limb up from Eastman's face, seeing a red mark on his skin from where the digit had adhered itself earlier.

Elliot began applying the technique to a second limb, and found himself moving that one as well soon. "I think we've got it now," Elliot said with a grin. Marcus sucked in a breath with a smile before grabbing a cloth and submerging it as well. The two men were soon slowly lifting the front end of the facehugger off of Eastman's head, to the point where they could see part of the tube it had inserted down his throat... until the tube expanded.

The facehugger limbs began twitching, and its tail loosened itself before tightening once again, causing Garfield to cry out in pain as he felt the intense pressure begin to stress the bones in his hand. "Oh shit, it's gonna break my hand! It's breaking my hand!" Garfield yelled painfully. Elliot looked over at Garfield, who was now hissing in pain through clenched teeth.

"Come on! Just a little bit-oh no. Oh no!" Elliot exclaimed as Eastman started to seize. He began convulsing as the engorged proboscis inside his throat and esophagus stopped supplying him with its breathing mixture. The bladders on the side of the creature had also stopped inflating, and were now inert. Eastman's body was now struggling for air as its only supply deliberately cut itself off. "Shit! Let it go! Let it go!" Elliot shouted as he let go of the limbs in his hand.

"No! We're almost there!" Marcus retorted as he tried applying the wet cloth to another limb in his continued attempt to remove the creature. "It's suffocating him, Fred! We keep this up and he'll _die!_ " Elliot warned urgently. Marcus looked down at Eastman's body, moving his free hand towards his throat to feel for a pulse. "He's not breathing. Oh shit, he's not breathing!" Marcus exclaimed worriedly before letting go of the limbs in his other hand.

Meanwhile, Garfield's cries had become more painful as the facehugger continued increasing the pressure from its tail around Garfield's hand and Eastman's throat. "It's gonna rip my hand off! Shit, someone help!" Garfield cried out in fear and pain.

Goodwin placed her taser on the floor and quickly rushed over to Garfield's side, grabbing the tail in an attempt to help the man. After the facehugger's four front limbs had found new purchase on Eastman's face again, the tail soon loosened itself and Garfield pulled away, cradling his right hand in his left one, hissing in pain while Goodwin stepped away. "God damn! Son of a _bitch!_ " Garfield seethed as he glared at the facehugger, soon breathing deeply to calm himself. Garfield soon walked over to a counter and pulled out a spinning chair to sit on as he resumed cradling his injured hand. "I... I need some medical attention," Garfield said between breaths.

Meanwhile, Elliot and Marcus were both staring at the facehugger, distraught that their attempts to remove it had failed. "It's not coming off without killing him," Marcus said wearily before walking over and leaning against a wall. "No. No, it's not," Elliot said in forlorn agreement. He then looked at the creature's twin bladders, which had begun inflating and deflating again.

Stepping closer to Eastman's chest, Elliot soon placed a finger on the man's throat to feel for a pulse. He quickly found one. It was slow and shallow, but it was definitely there as Elliot saw Eastman's chest slowly begin to rise and fall again.

"He's breathing again," Elliot said with a sigh, looking at the one silver lining of their situation and failed removal attempt.

"That's nice," Garfield said through clenched teeth. "Now, can someone _please_ look at my _hand!?_ " Elliot and Marcus both looked over at him with frowns.

"Elliot, go help him out," Marcus said with a sigh before he removed his gloves and took off his cap to run the other had through his hair.

Elliot quickly walked over to the tray with the bucket and pushed it towards Garfield. "Place your hand in the warm water," Elliot said. Garfield did as he was told. "Now what?" he asked the droid.

"Just wait for me to get some gauze and a temperature gel band. I'll also need some straight sticks to hold your hand in place," Elliot said as he walked over to a medical supply cabinet and opened it before reaching inside. After gathering the required materials, Elliot walked back over to Garfield's side and took his hand out of the water before treating it.

Goodwin, meanwhile, was examining the facehugger. She had retrieved her taser from the floor and was holding it tightly in her gloved hands, keeping the rubber-capped tip pointed away from the creature as she remembered Elliot's warning from earlier. "So there's no way to get this thing off of him?" she asked as she looked over at Elliot, who was busy wrapping a gauze bandage around Garfield's hand and two flat sticks to hold his fingers in place.

"Not without killing him," Elliot replied in a defeated tone before he finished wrapping the bandage around Garfield's hand.

Marcus snorted in indignation. "Then what are we supposed to do?" he asked with bitterness as he glared at the facehugger. Turning around to look at the facehugger, Elliot let out a resigned sigh.

"For now?" he began, looking between the others before landing his gaze on the alien. "For now... we wait," he said grimly. "We wait... and see what happens."

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter four of ALIEN - HARD-HEADS. One of the things that I've always been curious about is just what other defensive measures the facehugger might have if someone manages to get its limbs and its tail off of its victim. We know that it has a tube stuck in the victim's throat, so I've decided that I should use that as a hidden defense.

In ALIENS (1986), Bishop read the notes from the colonists who had tried removing the facehuggers from the other colonists in the med-lab, and while he read the cliff-notes, there was never any real detail on just _how_ they died. The expansion of the proboscis and the deliberate withholding of any breathable compounds is my idea of how the facehugger kills its victim when being forcibly removed while remaining otherwise intact.

And, in response to one reviewer, I can agree that Weyland-Yutani isn't wholly evil in and of itself. However, it _is_ ruthless and _criminally negligent_ in many ways. When describing how the company bribes safety inspectors rather than pay to fix things, I was referencing the Alan Dean Foster novelization of the original movie. Although... Foster _did_ describe the adult alien as having eyes and lacking the inner jaw, and he described the facehugger as having a single eye on its back as well, so maybe I shouldn't really use that as the most accurate source of information.

Also, for those of you who appreciate that I'm making a straight-forward ALIEN story, thank you. Personally, I want to make a story that harkens back to the tone and feel of the first film, which was a straight-forward horror movie IN SPACE! From the second film onwards, the franchise became more action/horror, and there wasn't really a sense of fear or dread when the xenomorphs appeared onscreen or were implied to be nearby, at least from the third movie onwards, with the candles in the tunnel sequence and Clemens' death being the last genuinely suspenseful horror moments in the franchise, at least in my opinion.

Anyway, as always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter or story so far in your reviews, as well as your opinions of how I've handled the facehugger. Again, I wrote this while listening to Jerry Goldsmith's score for the original ALIEN.


	5. A LONG WAIT

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 05: A LONG WAIT**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 16th, 2137**

 **THE GALLEY**

Fred Marcus slowly poked at the macaroni & cheese on his plate with his spork. Elliot had insisted that he get himself something to eat after their failed attempt to remove the facehugger from Eastman's face. While Marcus had indeed felt somewhat hungry at first, he now found himself without an appetite as he sat by himself in the galley. He let out a sigh as he continued poking his food.

"Die, mac and cheese. Die," Marcus said in an attempt to cheer himself up. The effort worked, but only briefly, as he still found himself lacking much of an appetite. Leaning back in his chair, he let out another depressed sigh before frowning.

He looked over at the various health posters, nutrition guides, and advertisements that adorned the walls of the galley. Looking back down at his food, Marcus picked up his spork again and forced himself to eat. He wasn't going to let it go to waste.

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 17th, 2137**

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE**

Alexandra Burns looked at the read-out on the monitor in front of her as the third system check neared 95% complete. She took a sip of her coffee before setting down the cup as she heard the beeps of a forklift nearby. Looking over at Rains and Milo, she called out to them. "Hey, we get to start doing the manual stuff when this systems check is complete, right?"

Rains looked over at her from the driver's seat of the forklift. "Yeah, that's right!" Rains shouted back to her as he used the forklift to move a pallet of equipment over to the shuttle pad. Milo was holding a clipboard and checking off a list of the required items for the next phase of the shuttle's maintenance check.

"Did we get everything loaded this time?" Rains asked as he parked the vehicle. Milo walked over and started doing a headcount of the items on the pallet, glancing down at the list every few seconds. "Yeah. Looks like it," Milo said after a few minutes, nodding his head and giving Rains a thumbs-up.

"Heh-heh. All right!" Rains let out with a grin as he set down the pallet, put the vehicle in gear, and began backing the forklift away from the shuttle. When the forklift was far enough away, Rains put it in park and shut off the engine before getting out and jogging over to the pallet to help Milo start unpacking the rest of their equipment for the next phase of the maintenance check. Burns soon joined the two men in their efforts as they prepared various hand-held devices and tool belts.

Burns adjusted the settings on a headset that she would soon be using to communicate with the two mechanics while inside the shuttle before taking off her jacket to put on a harness that would hold various equipment. She soon put her jacket back on, before pulling her hat back and letting it hang by a string around her throat.

"Hey, should we call Torres down here when it's time, or should we leave her out of this one?" Burns asked the two mechanics. Rains looked at her curiously, before nodding his head. "Call her down here," he said. Burns nodded her head in affirmation before walking back over to the maintenance terminal. She took another sip of her coffee and watched the progress bar on the screen slowly reach 96.4% complete. She looked up at the shuttle in anticipation. She was starting to get _bored_.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

Carl Brooks looked at the latest read-out of the alien ship's interior. Early this morning, Vince Hoffman and Jeff Green had been ordered to send scanning probes back into the ship and survey the area that Eastman had discovered. The two men were currently inside the ship, holding pick-axes and hammers for self-defense purposes as they monitored the progress of the probes. Marcus, meanwhile, was still asleep in his quarters, and Elliot was busy studying the facehugger in the medical lab. Brooks was essentially in charge of any and all mine-related operations for the time being, at least until Marcus woke up or Elliot decided to leave the medical lab.

Watching the progress on the display table, Brooks saw how the terrain of the new chamber was circular and surrounded a large spindle of sorts that was located directly underneath the one room that was currently blocked. The scan soon revealed that there were more holes in the ceiling above the chamber, showing that the room had indeed been exposed to the atmosphere of the mine for some time after the ship's hull had been breached. "I guess we can start trying to get into that room now," Brooks said to himself.

He glanced over at the communications terminal, where John Martin was sleeping in his chair, snoring loudly with his headset in his lap. Brooks shook his head at the sight before returning his attention to the holographic display table. The probes were slowly beginning to enter the new room, which was very large and circular in shape, with a large disc of some kind in the center, taking up a large portion of the room.

Soon, a new shape was formed on the disc. It looked like some kind of... gun or telescope with a seat behind it. "What the hell is this?" Brooks muttered under his breath in fascination as the scan revealed more detail of the object.

"We have _got_ to get inside there and take a closer look," he muttered to himself.

* * *

 **THE INTERIOR OF THE ENGINEER SHIP**

Hoffman and Green both looked at each other incredulously as Brooks told them to try getting into the blocked room by the first intersection, using a large portable radio unit that had cords connecting it to a networking node outside of the ship inside the mine, in order to boost the signal as they went deeper into the vessel. Both men shook their heads in disagreement with the orders. "Uh, negative. We are _not_ doing that, Brooks. Not without more people out here and some actual weapons," Green said through the suit into the radio.

" _The scan shows that the room is empty, guys. There aren't any of those things in there,_ " Brooks said over the radio. "Yeah, well... hmm, no. We ain't doin' it, buddy. It just isn't happening," Green retorted, shaking his head.

" _Fine. I'll collect Fairbank and come out there myself. There will be four of us. Will that make you feel better?_ " Brooks replied. Green and Hoffman both looked at each other skeptically.

"You said that the probes got into the room through holes in the ceiling above that chamber where Eastman was attacked, right?" Green asked into the radio. " _Well... yeah, but I-_ " "How big are those holes? How do we know that we won't fall into one as soon as we step into that room?" Green asked warily.

" _The scan shows that the holes are located adjacent to the doorway. I'll print out a Two-Dee map and highlight the locations of the holes before coming out here. That way we can explore the room safely,_ " Brooks replied. Green and Hoffman both looked at each other with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"Give us a minute to talk it over," Green said into the radio before taking his thumb off of the button. "What do you think?" Green asked Hoffman. Hoffman glanced back through the hallway before turning to look at Green again.

"He still hasn't agreed to bring any weapons out here. Besides, you heard what Elliot said about that face-thing; it's blood can eat through our suits! We can't use axes and hammers against those things," Hoffman replied. Green nodded his head in agreement with Hoffman's words.

"Yeah, and we can't use power tools either. That'll ruin the tools _and_ the blood might have an effect on the atmosphere of the mine. Plus, the tools would make the blood splatter everywhere. Even if the blood doesn't react with the atmosphere of the mine, it could still _hit us_ ," Green said.

Hoffman let out a sigh in agreement. "Well, we can't exactly use a gun out here either," Hoffman then stated. "That's... that's right," Green said in agreement. Both men hung their heads in frustration. "What do we do?" Green finally asked his comrade.

"Tell Brooks to let the probes scan the whole room for another hour, just to be sure that there aren't any nasty surprises in there," Hoffman suggested. Green nodded his head in firm agreement. "That's smart. That's very smart," he said before depressing the button on the radio mike again.

"Uh, okay, Brooks? We've come to a decision," Green said. " _Let's hear it,_ " Brooks said in response. "Alright, here's the deal; we'll go inspect that room _if_ you wait another hour for the probes to do a complete scan," Green said.

The radio was silent before Brooks responded. " _Okay. We'll wait another... ninety minutes before before going any further. You guys make sure to check the air levels your suits in the meantime. You can come on back and take a breather or you can stay out there and wait for me and Fairbank to join you. How does that sound?_ " Brooks suggested.

"Sounds good," Green said. "We'll be coming back inside for a quick breather and then we'll... come back to the ship with you and Fairbank," Green said reluctantly. " _Then it's a plan. See you guys in ninety minutes. Brooks out,_ " Brooks replied before ending the call.

Green and Hoffman looked at each other. "I've got a bad feeling about this," Hoffman said as Green began picking up the portable radio unit. "This whole thing stinks, if you ask me," Green said.

"It's that damn corporate suit's fault that Eastman got attacked anyway," Hoffman spat as he and Green began walking back through the corridor. "You know what?" Hoffman asked Green as they neared the intersection.

"What?" Green asked him after setting down the radio and walking over to the air supply station. "We should bring that corporate suit out here with us. Force _him_ to walk around in this creepy place," Hoffman said.

"He already _has_ walked around in this creepy place, Vince. And I don't think it bothered him one bit," Green replied as he connected an air-hose to his suit and began refilling his internal supply. Hoffman soon joined him.

"Yeah, but... he was the one who wanted to look around here again!" Hoffman raged. "No shit, but I don't think that forcing him to join us is going to do anyone any good. Besides, I doubt Elliot will let us bring him out here with his hand being broken by that... face-thing," Green said.

"Yeah, that's right. He tried to help get that thing off of Eastman, didn't he?" Hoffman asked in realization. "Try to use his role against him, and he'll just point out that he did more to help Eastman than you and me," Green said.

Hoffman nodded his head in agreement, reluctantly. "Yeah, I... I hadn't thought of that," Hoffman admitted. The two men were silent for a while after that, until their suits' air supplies had been refilled and they were once again making their way back to the station for a break.

* * *

 **THE RECREATION ROOM...**

Trent Bowman looked down at the holographic chess board in front of him. He was currently playing against the computer itself, and it was winning. He moved one of his remaining pawns forward, only to have a knight take it. He frowned as he moved his king one space, only for the computer's bishop to move forward next and trap him.

"YOU ARE IN CHECK," the machine said. Bowman frowned and looked down at the board, scanning for possible escape routes. He knew, right then, that he was fucked.

Sighing in defeat, Bowman reached over and hit a key to accept the computer's victory. When presented with the option for a new match, he accepted, choosing white this time instead of black. "How come no one makes these in blue and red?" he asked rhetorically before he made his first move on the holographic board.

 **THE MEDICAL LAB**

Elliot Yulan looked away from the computer screen when he heard the doors slide open. He scooted his chair back as Marcus entered the room, nursing a mug of coffee in his hands as he walked over to the contained examination cabinet to look at Eastman. "Still no changes in his condition?" Marcus asked tiredly as he turned around to face Elliot.

"None," Elliot replied softly. Marcus inhaled softly before letting out a sigh. Walking over to Elliot's side, he looked at the computer screen.

"What'cha got there?" Marcus asked him. Elliot looked at the screen before looking back at Marcus, who was waiting for a response. "Um, samples from the alien," Elliot replied.

"No kiddin'," Marcus said dryly.

"It's... remarkably adaptive. Lately, it's been shedding its cells and replacing them with polarized silicone," Elliot said. Marcus nodded his head in response. "Okay. That's nice and all, but what does that mean?" Marcus asked him.

"It's a... rugged organism. Very tough. It can presumably survive in any number of different environments because of this," Elliot replied. Marcus formed a wry smile on his lips and nodded his head.

"That's absolutely _fascinating_ ," Marcus said sardonically.

"Marcus, if you're going to ask me to make another attempt at removing it, I have to refuse. We know what this thing is capable of doing when threatened. Any further actions by us could... kill Eastman. Just as well, I took some more blood samples from Eastman, and they have me worried," Elliot said wearily.

"I don't think I'm gonna like this," Marcus said. "Trust me, Marcus, you _won't_ ," Elliot said in response. Marcus inhaled and then exhaled. "Alright, what is it?" Marcus asked the droid.

"After we tried to remove the facehugger, I took another blood sample from Eastman," Elliot said. "You just told me that. Get to the important stuff," Marcus interjected with a pointed look on his face. Elliot nodded his head.

"Well, the blood samples now show a concentration of a sedative, one with _recognizable_ elements," Elliot said. Marcus nodded his head in understanding. "Go on," Marcus said. "The sedative is a... cyanose-based paralytic," Elliot explained.

Marcus blinked in confusion. "Um... a what?" he asked Elliot. "It's a toxic sedative. From what I've determined, the delivery mechanism is dimethyl sulfoxide, and the only thing that's regulating it right now is that creature," Elliot replied. "Wait, if it's toxic, then how is Eastman not already dead?" Marcus asked skeptically.

"I just told you; the facehugger regulates it. That's part of _why_ it sticks to his skin, so that it can control the amount of the sedative flowing through him. It's also how it administers it; through skin contact. The reason it manages to stick to his skin isn't just from an extensive musculature, but also through an adhesive that has traces of the substance as well, albeit in very low quantities. What all of this adds up to, however, is simple: if we remove the facehugger... Eastman _will die_ ," Elliot said grimly. Marcus glanced back over at the cabinet with a grim expression on his face, before finally sighing in defeat.

"Is this stuff... contagious?" Marcus soon asked Elliot. "The sedative?" Elliot asked him curiously. "Yeah. Can it become airborne? Can it spread?" Marcus asked him. "No. No, it can't. It's not a contagion. It can only be administered by the creature through physical contact... and, as I've told you, it can only be _regulated_ by constant physical contact with the creature as well, unfortunately," Elliot said with a sigh.

"Alright. You just... keep monitoring Eastman and let me know if anything changes," Marcus said before walking over to the doors. The main doors slid open and he walked out of the lab, letting the doors slide closed behind him. Elliot reclined in his chair and looked back over at Eastman before returning his attention to the computer terminal.

Meanwhile, Marcus made his way through the hallway and over to an elevator to take him up to the next level, where the operations center was located.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER...**

When Marcus stepped inside the room, he saw Martin slowly spinning around in his chair. "Morning, John. Any news?" Marcus asked the communications operator. "Uh, go talk to Brooks," Martin replied.

Marcus looked over at the center of the room where the holographic display table was located, seeing Brooks standing next to it as he studied a newly scanned room inside the alien ship. "So, what've we got here?" Marcus asked the geologist as he took a seat next to the table. Brooks looked away from the display to look Marcus in the eyes.

"The chamber where Eastman was attacked has several holes in it that lead into the chamber that we previously thought was undisturbed," Brooks said. Marcus looked carefully at the display before taking a sip of his coffee. "What's that... thing in the center?" Marcus asked as he saw the large telescope gun on the circular platform in the center of the chamber.

"I don't know," Brooks replied. "I'll be heading out with Fairbank in twenty minutes to meet up with Hoffman and Green to go check it out in person," he added. Marcus looked at him questioningly.

"Whoa! Hold on a minute, Carl. Your memory can't be _that_ bad, can it? Have you forgotten what's happening with Eastman?" Marcus asked him incredulously. Brooks looked at him with an offended expression on his face.

"No, Fred, I haven't forgotten. But this room doesn't appear to have any of those things in it, and the only thing separating us from it at the moment is that blockage in the doorway," Brooks replied. Marcus raised an eyebrow skeptically before shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

"Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm and passion for this kind of thing," Marcus said. "I really do, but... I'm just apprehensive about sending any more people in there at this point. Who knows if that blockage is booby-trapped or something? This ship was carrying a load of... face monsters inside of it. And what about the holes that we've been finding in the floors of this thing? Those don't look like they're part of the architecture," Marcus said warily.

"What caused those holes? What happened to the ship's crew? Now, there is no indication from soil samples or strata studies to indicate how this ship got to where it is inside this moon. We don't know if it crashed here by accident or if it was deliberately placed here and buried," Marcus continued.

"Well, someone has to investigate it to find out," Brooks pointed out. Marcus snorted in response. "Yeah, _someone_. That doesn't necessarily mean _us_ ," he retorted.

"Come on, Fred! We've scanned the chamber and there's nothing dangerous inside it," Brooks protested. Marcus looked over at the display with a sigh of consternation. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again to look at Brooks.

"Okay. But no stupidity. No trying to retrieve lost equipment. No going anywhere by yourself in there. Understand?" Marcus said reluctantly. Brooks nodded his head in understanding. "I also want constant communication between you guys and the station. Any time you decide to move into a new location, I want to know about it. I want you to contact Martin and tell him," Marcus continued.

"And I want you to take defenses of some kind out there with you," Marcus added. Brooks nodded his head slowly, before something occurred to him. "Um, okay. But, Fred, you and Elliot have both told everyone about that creature's blood being like acid. If we encounter more of those things and shoot them with guns or use drills on them, we don't know how their blood might react with the atmosphere in the mine and the ship. What if we shoot them and their blood gets sprayed everywhere, hitting someone, or all of us?" Brooks asked in return.

"That's... a very good line of questioning," Marcus admitted, nodding his head with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I guess the safest thing to do is just stay in the station and not go out there," Marcus said simply. Brooks shook his head.

"No, Marcus. You just gave me permission to go out there. I'm not backing down now," Brooks countered. Marcus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his free hand as he groaned in frustration.

"Fine. But you have to follow the rules I laid out for you. No exceptions," Marcus said as he opened his eyes and glared at Brooks. Brooks slowly nodded his head in agreement. "I promise," Brooks said. "Good. Now, make sure that all four of you come back here alive, and _without_ anything attached to you," Marcus said with some reluctance as he gave Brooks permission to investigate the alien vessel.

* * *

 **INSIDE THE ENGINEER SHIP...**

Shining a flashlight onto the walls of the ship, Brooks looked around for some way of opening the door that was blocking their progress. Standing next to him, Green was gently running his gloved right hand over the wall. Brooks began doing the same on the other side of the doorway, searching for some means to open the door.

He eventually ran his hands over something that produced a clicking noise. "What was that?" Green asked him as he looked in his direction. Fairbank and Hoffman were both watching them from a distance, holding a pick-axe and a fire-axe, respectively.

Brooks ran his hand over the spot again, shining his flashlight on the section of wall that he was touching. "I think-" he was interrupted by another clicking sound, and then a strange hiss as the door began sliding open. The sound of the door sliding was strange. It was almost organic, yet mechanical. It seemed... wrong.

As the door opened, however, the four men were able to see the interior of the chamber, with the large disc in the center of the room, and the two probes moving around in the air as they ran their scanners repeatedly. Brooks carefully stepped forward before looking at the floor in front of him, checking for holes. When he was satisfied that the path was safe, he marched forward confidently and began to examine the large telescope gun on the center of the disc.

Gently extending a hand forward, Brooks made contact with the disc, feeling the solid material before hefting himself up onto the platform to take a closer look at the telescope gun. Hoffman walked over to the platform and glanced around at the various parts of the object. "Hey, Brooks? Should you really be climbing this thing?" Hoffman asked him.

Brooks looked at Hoffman. "I don't think it's dangerous," Brooks said as he slowly walked around the seat of the telescope gun. Hoffman shone his flashlight at the seat and what looked like the viewing section of the device. "That's a... pretty big seat," Hoffman noted without much enthusiasm.

Brooks nodded his head in agreement as he carefully placed one gloved hand on the shaft of the gun while walking under it and around to the other side of the seat. He marveled at the sheer size of it as he examined it further. "This is... what kind of life form made this thing?" Brooks asked himself in amazement.

Hoffman glanced back at Green and Fairbank. Green was busy using the radio to contact the station, while Fairbank was busy searching for holes in the floor. Returning his attention to Brooks, Hoffman's eyes widened as he saw Brooks entering the seat of the device. "Brooks! What are you doing!?" Hoffman asked him.

"I'm just checking it out," Brooks said simply. Hoffman shook his head in disbelief. "How do you know that this thing won't do something when you sit in it?" Hoffman asked him fearfully.

"Well, I... huh. You know, you've got a point," Brooks said before climbing out of the seat. Hoffman let out a relieved sigh as Brooks walked back around to him. "We should have brought some cameras," Brooks said as he looked around the room.

Shining his light on the floor where some of the holes were located, Brooks looked over at what appeared to be another doorway. The door appeared to be open a crack, and one of the scanning probes was resting on the ground in front of it. Carefully stepping off of the platform, Brooks made his way over to door and picked up the scanning probe.

Looking at the rim of the door, Brooks saw that it appeared to have signs of corrosion. Shining his flashlight through the space between the door and the doorway, Brooks saw only a continuing corridor, much like the rest of the ship in terms of aesthetic appearance. "Hey, Hoffman, get over here!" Brooks called out.

Hoffman warily made his way off of the platform and over to where Brooks was standing, being careful to avoid any holes in the floor. "What is it?" Hoffman asked Brooks as he neared his position. Brooks pointed to the door.

"See this? It's connected to another hallway," Brooks pointed out. Hoffman stepped back and shook his head in refusal. "Oh no. Uh-uh. Look, we came here to examine this room. _This_ room, not any others. Let's stick with this one," Hoffman protested.

Brooks frowned and looked over at Green, who was carrying the radio. "Green! Can you bring the radio over here?" Brooks called out to the miner. Green looked away from the wall he was examining to focus on Brooks curiously.

"Is the cable long enough to bring it over here?" Brooks called out again. Green glanced at the cable bundle wrapped around the plastic carrying frame that the radio was nestled in. He glanced back at Brooks and nodded his head before unspooling the cable, little by little.

Soon, Green made his way over to the doorway. He set the radio down on the ground and gave it to Brooks, who kneeled down to use it. "Come in, Taros Station Number Four. Come in, Martin. Come in, Marcus. Do you read, over?" Brooks asked into the hand-piece.

" _Brooks, you've got me,_ " Marcus said over the radio. "Okay, Marcus, we've found a doorway to another part of the ship," Brooks said. There was brief silence before Marcus replied.

" _Is the doorway blocked or closed?_ " Marcus asked him with a warning tone in his voice. "Uh, not really. The door is open a crack. Just wide enough to fit my hand through, in fact," Brooks replied as he glanced back at the door.

" _So the atmosphere is already the same?_ " Marcus asked him.

"Yeah," Brooks replied, nodding his head eagerly.

* * *

Marcus held his headset away from his mouth as he mulled over what Brooks had just told him. He glanced back over at the display table before looking back at the monitor showing the wavelength readings for the communication system. Quietly inhaling, Marcus closed his eyes and hoped that he wouldn't regret his next decision.

* * *

" _If you can get a probe through that doorway and let it scan the area first, then you can follow it and explore that location. But only after I give you the OK to do so. Got it?_ " Marcus stated over the radio. Brooks smiled appreciatively as he looked at the scanning probe on the ground.

"I read you, Marcus. We'll get the door open enough to slip the probe through, and then we'll wait for you to let us go forward," Brooks said in agreement. " _Good. Just make sure that you_ _ **wait**_ _for me to to call you. Don't do anything stupid,_ " Marcus responded over the radio.

"You got it," Brooks said, still smiling. He put the hand-piece back on the radio and stood up before walking over to the door. Setting down his flashlight, Brooks put both hands into the doorway and tried to push back on the door.

After a minute, he stopped and turned around to look at the other miners. "Um, anybody got a crowbar?" Brooks asked sheepishly. The three miners stared at him distastefully as they realized they would have to venture further into the ship before the day was over.

* * *

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE...**

Burns looked down at the panel in front of her as Anna Torres checked the cables inside. "Mm, yeah. Everything here looks good," Torres said before closing the access panel and moving on to the next one. Bruns handed her a cable checker as she began unplugging certain wires and inserting them into the device. Burns watched as Torres began running another cycle of tests on the next batch of cables, one wire at a time.

Checking her watch, which had been adjusted for the moon's orbital rotation and size relative to the nearby colony planet, Burns saw that two hours had passed since they had begun the physical manual inspection phase. "So... how many of these wire-checking devices do you have? You know, in case one breaks or gets lost?" Burns asked Torres. Torres glanced up at Burns, who was standing over her.

"Mm... I think I have about-I guess-uh... nine more?" Torres said, somewhat uncertain. Burns blinked at her in surprise. "Nine... _more?_ " Burns asked her curiously, surprised.

"I think so, although one of them _did_ stop working a while back. So, I have eight more _functioning_ cable testers," Torres said before she returned her attention to the device in her hands. Burns nodded her head in thoughtful consideration.

"That's a lot of spares," Burns said. Torres nodded her head in agreement as she kept her eyes on the small device in her hands. She soon unplugged the first few wires and then re-inserted them back where she had unplugged them before inserting a new selection of wires into the device.

"So... um, are all of you wire or cable testers made by the same company? Do ones from different companies have different functions, or do they all pretty much work the same?" Burns asked the computer technician. Torres glanced up at Burns with an expression of minor annoyance on her face.

"Well?" Burns asked her curiously. Torres raised an eyebrow at the pilot before glancing back down at the device in her hands. The device was almost finished testing the wires. Torres let out a sigh of annoyance as she glanced back up at Burns.

"Look, Burns, I'd be glad to talk about this at a later time, but I really need to focus. If I miss a single bad wire during this test, it could have disastrous consequences for the shuttle. It could easily affect the rest of the systems and components that we need to test later on," Torres responded with a warning tone in her voice.

"Look, I know how to use these things, Torres," Burns replied. Torres snorted in disbelief. "I do!" Burns protested.

"Then why aren't you using one to help me out and speed things up?" Torres asked her as she removed the current batch of wires from the device and re-insterted them back where she had pulled them. "Well, you never offered one to me," Burns replied. "Please, Burns. If you know how to use these things, then why do you need my help?" Torres asked her.

"Because having four people moves this along faster than only three people," Burns replied.

"Well if that's the case, then why didn't you ask me for one of these to begin with? You could have asked," Torres said in exasperation. "Well, may I use one of these testing devices?" Burns asked her.

"As long as you know what you're doing, _sure!_ " Torres replied flippantly.

Burns stared at Torres silently for a minute, before muttering under her breath, " _Bitch_."

 **THE GALLEY...**

Marvin Garfield sat at an empty table with a tray holding square pizza slices, a cup of water, and a small bowl of what Garfield thought tasted like vanilla pudding. Holding the spoon for the pudding in his good hand, which was not his primary hand, Garfield found himself questioning if obtaining a specimen was truly worth getting injured. He had already gotten the miners to give Weyland-Yutani the rights to claim the ship. Short of accidentally destroying the vessel, Garfield had almost nothing to lose at this point.

"Marvin... you're a fucking idiot," Garfield whispered to himself as he glanced at his injured hand and frowned. "You already have the ship. You're _guaranteed_ to get a bonus just for negotiating the claim for it," Garfield whispered to himself in an attempt to cheer himself up.

There was, however, one little problem that nagged at him: the infected miner. Garfield had been able to gain access to basic information from Weyland-Yutani databases regarding the collected information on the creature's life cycle, so he knew what would eventually happen during the next phase of the creature's life. The problem at this point was finding a way to halt it or to at least postpone it.

The obvious solution would be to simply put Eastman in a stasis tube and freeze him. However, as Garfield had noticed during his walk through the station that morning, there were no stasis tubes or capsules of any kind, at least not in the areas that he had explored. He remembered seeing just one stasis tube in the shuttle on the way down, but with the shuttle currently undergoing its maintenance routine, asking the miners to use it would not be feasible.

 _Or,_ Garfield thought to himself, _You could just... let_ _ **it**_ _happen and then help them kill it. You can always explain when you get back that there was no way to let it live and still survive to capture it. You've read the database articles, Marvin. Kill it as soon as possible, or get the hell out of dodge. The only problem is... every single recorded encounter has been from a different source. No two specimens from different sources have ever displayed the same exact traits one hundred percent, only basic traits_. "I shouldn't have egged him to go down that hole," Garfield whispered regretfully to himself.

Sighing in frustration, Garfield silently ate his pizza. _The ship still has plenty of eggs inside. What's the loss of_ _ **one**_ _specimen going to matter? Besides, the ship is more important. The technology inside that thing is worth far more than... those things. Obtaining one isn't worth dying, Marvin. It just isn't worth it,_ Garfield thought to himself quietly.

* * *

 **AN HOUR LATER, INSIDE THE ENGINEER SHIP...**

"So we can move forward?" Brooks asked Marcus over the radio. " _Yes, Brooks, but don't do anything stupid! I don't need another person coming back with a living face-mask attached to them,_ " Marcus replied over the radio.

"Understood. We will be extra careful. Brooks out," Brooks said before hanging the hand-piece back in its spot. Brooks looked at the bundle of cable connected to the radio unit. "Should we leave it here or take it further in with us?" Brooks asked Green.

"We can take it a bit farther. It'll be a good life-line. We'll only go as far as we can take the radio," Green replied.

"Can't you detach it from the cable? It has its own battery, doesn't it?" Brooks asked him. Green nodded his head.

"We can, but this isn't a power cable. This is a network cable, linking the radio to a node that boosts the signal to the station. We disconnect from that, and there's no telling what kind of interference we'll get in here. Personally, I'd rather be able to communicate without interference," Green replied. Hoffman and Fairbank both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright. We'll only go as far as we can carry the radio," Brooks said before grabbing his flashlight from the floor and turning it on. He made his way over to the doorway and started pushing it back a little bit further. "Uh, can I get some help? Please?" Brooks asked the other men.

Hoffman made his way over and looked around the doorway, before seeing a strange round object in the side of the wall near the doorway. Reaching forward, he pressed his palm against the object, causing the door to open. Brooks fell forward against the door as it slid back before rolling onto the floor with a shout of surprise.

"Watch yourself," Hoffman said as he helped Brooks off the floor. Taking Hoffman's hand, Brooks quickly stood up before grabbing his flashlight again and moving forward into the newest hallway. Shining the light around the curved walls, Brooks took note that nothing about the hall was really all that different from the others found in the ship.

The four men moved quietly through the corridor, shining their lights on every surface they could see. "Okay, does anyone else think that this ship was made by carving out the inside of some giant animal?" Green asked as he slowly became convinced that the walls were in fact part of a giant ribcage.

"Well, it _does_ have an... organic look to it," Brooks said in slight agreement. "This ship looks like it was _grown_ instead of built, to be honest," the geologist added. Eventually, the group came across an open doorway, with a large petrified foot sticking out of it. Everyone aimed their lights at the foot as they studied it.

"Uh, maybe we should go back now?" Fairbank asked nervously. "Do we still have cable for the radio?" Brooks asked Green. Green looked down at the radio and nodded his head. "A couple dozen meters left, I think," Green replied.

"Then we'll keep moving," Brooks said as he knelt down to inspect the petrified foot. He carefully reached out and tapped it with a gloved hand. "Hey, don't touch that thing!" Hoffman hissed at him in alarm.

"I'm pretty sure it's dead," Brooks said. "Brooks, did you hit your head sometime recently?" Green asked the geologist worriedly. "No. Why?" Brooks asked the miner.

"Oh, just curious," Green replied. "Hm. Well, remember, curiosity killed the cat," Brooks said in response. " _Really?_ You don't say?" Green asked him with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Brooks ignored the man and slowly shone his flashlight further up the leg connected to the foot, before landing the light on the torso of a petrified humanoid giant. There was some kind of helmet or mask covering the head, which had a vague elephant-like appearance to it, while the rest of the body appeared to be... organic, yet also mechanical. It was... biomechanical in appearance.

Standing up into a crouch, Brooks slowly crouch-walked over to the torso of the giant, inspecting it and the helmet. The body seemed to be intact, with the exception of a large gash in the giant's throat. Glancing over to the side, Brooks saw a large blade of some kind in the hands of the being.

"Suicide," Brooks muttered to himself as he made the connection. He aimed his flashlight at the helmet of the giant before shining it over into the rest of the room, seeing a petrified... facehugger, which was lying a few feet away, near the body of another giant. This body was severely decayed, with the left arm missing and half of its torso seemingly melted. The petrified facehugger seemed to be missing two legs and part of its tail as well. Looking around, Brooks soon saw a large petrified corpse that didn't belong to a giant or the small facehugger.

It was something else. It was something that seemed... alien. It was biomechanical, just like the giants, but it had an elongated head, very phallic in appearance, with visible ribbing and ridges running the length of it. It had no visible eyes, although there seemed to be a depression in the side of its head where some strange wire emerged while running the length of the rest of the cranium. There appeared to be six fingers on its hand, with two sets of digits stuck together and the other two sticking out.

There was a bony and segmented tail that curled around the creature, with a barb on the end of it. The mouth of the creature was open, showing human-like steel teeth, albeit with some obvious canines. There was a large collar above each shoulder, with four dorsal tubes protruding from the back, along with a small dorsal spine under the back of the head.

Gazing down the torso, with had an external rib cage appearance, Brooks soon looked at the legs and feet of the creature. The feet looked... human in appearance, except for the toes being similar to the hands with claws on them, while the legs were... almost human as well. "What the hell is this thing?" Brooks asked himself as he continued looking over the corpse.

Behind him, Hoffman entered the room and shone his light around, aiming it up at the wall, where something disturbing caught his attention. A petrified head was sticking out of what looked like a developing... egg. There was no helmet on this giant, looking so very human in appearance, with a large hole in its cranium as the rest of its body seemed to be merged with the outer egg-like covering that was enveloping it.

"Oh... my... god," Fairbank said as he entered the room and saw the sight as well. _That... looks like an egg. That thing is... transforming into an egg? An egg_ , Fairbank thought to himself. _Just like the ones... in that chamber. Th-The crew... oh dear god,_ Fairbank thought to himself in horror as he continued looking at the grim sight on the wall, before aiming his flashlight elsewhere and seeing what looked like several other eggs. The eggs were all in a state of decay, however, with one of them looking as though it had been ripped apart, and other looking as though part of it had exploded.

Glancing down at the floor, Fairbank saw a strange object that resembled a gun. It was near the decapitated corpse of another petrified giant. Except, it wasn't exactly decapitated. There seemed to be part of a skull still attached, but it was melted, along with part of the torso.

Unlike the first giant, this one appeared to be... female. It had a slightly more slim figure than the other one, and it had what looked like two... rising hills on the upper torso just beneath the melted collar-bone area, indicating possible mammaries underneath, or perhaps a dented suit. It was almost impossible to tell where the suits of these giants began and ended, aside from their hands and wrists. Lying on the ground near the supposedly-female giant was another one of the eyeless creatures, only the front of its head was missing, along with its left arm, both having been apparently blasted off by the gun on the floor.

"Jesus Christ!" Fairbank said in alarm as he began piecing together what he was seeing. "What?" Green asked him. "What's wrong?"

"This was the crew. This was the crew," Fairbank said fearfully before shining his light on the egg-morph on the wall. "And that... was where all those eggs came from. That's... these things," he said, shining his light on the petrified monster corpses. "They turned the crew into eggs. They turned them into eggs," Fairbank continued, fear gripping him.

"Now, wait a minute, we don't-" "Look around you, man! Just look!" Fairbank exclaimed, cutting off Hoffman. "We gotta get out of here! We-We gotta seal off this ship!" Fairbank exclaimed in a panicked tone. Green marched over to him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Fairbank, get a hold of yourself! Just calm down," Green said firmly. "Just calm down," he repeated. "B-But these-" "They're _dead_ ," Green interrupted him. "They're dead. They can't do anything, so just calm down and take a deep breath," Green said to his colleague.

Fairbank closed his eyes and slowly began taking a deep breath. "That's it. Just take it nice and easy," Green said as he helped his fellow miner calm down. "Now, I want you to keeping breathing slowly and count to ten, or do something calm. Just... don't panic. There's nothing to panic over," Green said.

"Maybe we should just get him back to the station," Hoffman suggested. "We should bring one of these corpses back with us as well," Brooks said. Green and Hoffman both shot glares at the man. "Hell no!" Hoffman snapped at the geologist. "We only came out here to inspect and study. Not to bring back!" Hoffman ranted at Brooks.

"Hoffman, please calm down," Green said. "Everyone just calm down. Brooks, you can look around the room, but we're going back to the station in two hours or less. Understand? Two hours. No more," Green said.

Brooks looked over at him and slowly nodded his head. "Alright," Brooks said in reluctant agreement. "Now, tomorrow, we'll come back and take pictures of everything, and we'll record some footage of the inside of the ship," Green said. "For now, let's just... keep _looking_ , and then we'll return to the station," Green added.

Brooks glanced over at the gun on the floor. "Can we take that gun over there?" he asked, pointing to it with his flashlight. "No," Green said. "You touch that thing the wrong way, it could blow up or something, or maybe shoot you by accident," Green replied firmly.

Brooks furrowed his brows before sighing in defeat. Green was right. He had no idea how the alien gun worked, and touching it the wrong spot could easily end with himself and possibly the others being killed or injured. "Okay. You're right. I didn't think of it that way," Brooks admitted with great reluctance as he stood up and began shining his light on the rest of the room, revealing another giant corpse stuck to the wall. This one had a large hole in its chest, with evidence of singing and melting around the hole.

Looking back at the gun, Brooks surmised that the giant had been shot by the one on the floor either by accident or as a mercy kill to save it from the same fate as the other crew who, apparently, had been turned into eggs like the other one on the wall. Glancing around at another wall, with what looked like some kind of alien terminal on it, Brooks saw another egg, next to the terminal. This one was also decayed, but it hadn't been destroyed externally. Its four petals were opened, and there was an empty helmet on the floor nearby.

For the next two hours, Brooks found himself feeling more and more disturbed and fearful as he inspected the corpses further and further. The more he looked around at the scene, the more unnerving it became to him. After informing the station that he and the others were returning, Brooks stayed quiet, contemplating what he had found. Fairbank's words echoed in his mind, and he found himself more and more afraid of the dark secrets held within the ship.

* * *

 **THE MEDICAL LAB...**

As the doors to the lab slid open, Elliot walked inside briskly, pausing only to close the doors behind him. He turned on the lights and began making his way over to the contained examination cabinet. Eastman was right where he had left him, and his eyes were still closed as... his eyes were visible. His face was visible. There was no sign of the facehugger on his person.

Scanning the interior of the cabinet, Elliot reached over to the control panel and activated a new scan. Stepping back and looking at the screen above the cabinet, he soon saw the scanned image of Eastman with the facehugger curled up next to him. Quickly turning around, Elliot made his way over to the communication panel on the wall, calling the operations center.

"Yes, John? Get Marcus on the line," Elliot said urgently. " _Just hold on,_ " Martin said over the phone. A minute later, Elliot was speaking with Marcus.

" _Elliot, what's going on?_ " Marcus asked him. "The facehugger has removed itself from Eastman's body. I want you and Lieutenant Goodwin to report to the medical lab ASAP. I have the creature contained with Eastman, but I have no desire to open the cabinet while alone," Elliot explained.

" _I'll be right down. Just stay put and keep that cabinet closed. Also, Brooks just came back a few minutes ago with the others. If possible, I'd like you to give them a checkup in the infirmary. Brooks said that Fairbank was pretty shaken by something they saw inside the ship, and having seen the scans from the probes, I want to ask them some questions later,_ " Marcus requested.

"I can do that, but please hurry," Elliot replied before hanging up. He made his way over to a cabinet under the washing station and retrieved some baking soda and some surgical gloves, before setting the container of baking soda on a medical tray nearby. Grabbing a surgical mask, Elliot put it on and waited for Marcus and Goodwin to arrive.

* * *

Author's Notes: And this was chapter 05 of the story. I would like to say that I honestly prefer the xenomorphs of the first three movies over the ones seen in Resurrection onwards, in terms of design. Yes, the xenomorphs in Resurrection were imperfect hybrid clones, so I can accept that as an explanation for their appearance and behavior. However, in AVP and Requiem... eh. I look at the suits from Requiem and I see... something ugly. I look at Giger's creation from the first film, and I see a combination of beauty and horror as surreal as its environment. The predalien was probably the best designed Xenomorph in Requiem, however, as it was the only new creature that actually looked like something from the earlier films. It even had a visible skull inside of it like Kane's Son, or Big Chap as the first film's Xenomorph is sometimes called. I like the biomechanical appearance of the early films. It truly does make the Xenomorph feel... alien.

Yes, the xenomorphs found by the miners are indeed engineer-borne xenomorphs. I described one of them in a manner similar to the ones from ALIENS because... well, it was the first one born from the engineer crew, and it was alive far longer than the others that infested the ship. To be honest, I really do think that xenomorphs can build a hive without a queen, at least for a period of time. My opinion is that unless a queen-carrying facehugger infects people, with one person being the host for a guardian Xenomorph like in ALIEN 3 and the other person being the primary host, the xenomorphs will resort to egg-morphing to begin building up their numbers and possibly create a queen through one Xenomorph undergoing a transformation or by creating an egg that can spawn a royal facehugger.

In fact, I consider egg-morphing to be a legitimate part of the alien's life cycle when no queens are around. Especially since this alternate egg-creation method has a very... disturbing and insidious feel to it. I think it adds to the horrific and alien nature of the Xenomorph, in my opinion.

As for those who pointed out the toxic sedative aspect of the facehugger to me, thank you for the information. I went online and did some more research on this, and I found a way to work it into this chapter. I do still like to think that the facehugger can expand that proboscis to asphyxiate its victim if needed, though. I mean, I feel that it would probably use every means at its disposal to make other organisms cease their attempts at removing it from the host. Besides, expanding the proboscis would also make it _physically_ more difficult for the facehugger to be removed as well, if you think about it.

I just wanted to add something new to the creature's list of abilities and defenses without making a _radical_ departure from established canon, like giving it sedative-loaded quills that it can shoot from its back in a manner reminiscent of the Krites from the Critters series. Although, I _could_ use that in a non-canon story that takes place in an alternate universe or an alternate timeline.

Anyway, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews, and don't hold back with constructive criticism. Especially if you see a plot hole that I missed as a result of re-writing certain sections of the chapter.


	6. SPECIAL DELIVERY

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 06: SPECIAL DELIVERY**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 17th, 2137**

 **THE MEDICAL LAB**

Looking at the comatose Bill Eastman, Fred Marcus carefully held out a metal tray as Elliot retrieved the seemingly dead facehugger from the inside of the cabinet. Being sure to hold the creature by the tail and keep it facing _away_ from him, Elliot placed the alien on the tray before taking it out of Marcus's hands. Standing by the doors, Lieutenant Samantha Goodwin held a taser at the ready, keeping her eyes locked on the creature on the tray.

"Is it dead?" Goodwin asked as Elliot placed the tray on a counter. Elliot grabbed a small metal probing stick and gently pressed it against the underside of the creature. "Are you _sure_ that you should be _poking it_ like that?" Goodwin then asked him skeptically. Elliot glanced at her before rolling his eyes and pressing the stick forward more firmly. The facehugger's legs moved and curled inwards jerkily, before ceasing all other activity. Pressing the probe against the legs, Elliot soon determined that the movement had been a reflex action.

"Don't worry," Elliot said, "I think it's dead."

"You _think!?_ " Marcus asked him skeptically. "Okay, I'm _sure_ that it's _dead_. Is that better?" Elliot asked Marcus snarkily. "Not really," Marcus replied with a frown, shaking his head.

"Too bad," Elliot quipped as he he began poking the underside of the dead facehugger. "Um, shouldn't you be checking Eastman's vitals or something?" Goodwin asked the droid. "I already did when I ran a scan. Look at his chest," Elliot said, gesturing towards the slow rise and fall of Eastman's chest as he lay in the cabinet.

Goodwin nodded her head after seeing that Eastman was indeed still breathing. "Has he woken up yet?" she then asked. "No, unfortunately. The scan showed that he's still in a coma," Elliot replied with a frown. "So, what do we do with the... facehugger?" she then asked as she walked over to Elliot and Marcus. Marcus glanced over at her while Elliot continued probing the alien corpse.

"Um, guys?" Goodwin asked them. "Just a minute," Elliot said as he grabbed a pair of tongs and used them to pry various flaps and folds apart on the underside of the creature. "Should you _really_ be poking at it like that?" Goodwin asked him.

"It's dead, Lieutenant," Elliot replied confidently.

"Yeah, but that thing bled _acid_ , Elliot! We knows what it'll do now that it's dead? And furthermore, _why_ did it die?" Goodwin asked him in retort.

Elliot glanced up and opened his mouth to respond when there was a beep from the com system. "Marcus, could you get that?" Elliot asked his boss. "It's your phone," Marcus replied.

Elliot sighed and took off his gloves before walking over to the com system. "Hello?" he asked after picking the phone up. " _Hey, Doc? Is it possible for you to give us a checkup soon? And could you get us something to help calm Fairbank down?_ " Jeff Green asked over the line.

"Oh yes. I-I'm sorry. I completely forgot. Just head on into the infirmary and I'll be right over," Elliot said into the phone, prompting Marcus and Goodwin to look at him curiously. Elliot noticed their glances as he marched over to the washing station and cleaned his hands before slipping on some new gloves. "The miners," Elliot explained.

"Yeah. I told you about them earlier," Marcus said dryly. "Get to it," he added firmly as he pointed toward the door to the infirmary. Elliot quickly entered a code to open the inner doors and enter the infirmary, leaving Marcus and Goodwin with the facehugger on the tray.

Looking down at the tray, Goodwin frowned. "I think we should throw it out of an airlock," she said. Marcus raised an eyebrow as he glanced up at her. "Not so fast, Antsy Nancy," Marcus quipped.

"What?" Goodwin asked him. "We can't just get rid of it. We may need it for samples or for Elliot to run tests if Eastman's condition worsens. Getting rid of it could be throwing away our best chance at finding out how to help him," Marcus explained.

"Elliot said that this thing pumped Eastman full of a toxic sedative, and it being attached to him was the only reason he wasn't dead. Now, it's come off and he's still breathing," Marcus said as he glanced over at the comatose miner. "So... what happened to the sedative?" Goodwin asked curiously.

"We'll have to wait for Elliot to do a blood test and see what comes up. He'll no doubt need to take samples from mister hugs-a-lot here as well to find out what's going on," Marcus said as he glanced back at the tray with the alien. Goodwin rolled her eyes before relenting. "Fine," she said as Marcus got up and walked over to the doors to the infirmary.

"Where are you going?" Goodwin asked him. "I'm gonna see how my employees are doing," Marcus said before opening the doors and entering the infirmary. "Don't do anything while I'm gone," he added before closing the doors.

Turning around to look at the three miners and one geologist, Marcus took note of how Fairbank was holding his head in his hands and muttering to himself. "Hey, Lewis? You doing okay there?" Marcus asked the miner as he approached him. Fairbank was sitting on an exam table while the others were sitting in chairs, with Elliot digging through a drawer for something.

"That's how it works," Fairbank said. "Huh?" Marcus asked him as he stepped closer. "They turned them into eggs. Then they hatched and turned the others into monsters. They turned them into monsters. They turned them into monsters," Fairbank repeated.

Marcus raised an eyebrow in confusion. He glanced back over at the others. "What the hell's he talkin' about?" Marcus asked them.

"Fred, by any chance, did you see the scans from the probe?" Brooks asked him. "Yeah. That's what I'm hoping to talk to you guys about. What was in that room?" Marcus replied.

"It should have been obvious," Brooks said. Marcus rolled his eyes in response. "No, Carl. Not really. Now, I like to think that I'm a reasonable guy, but I have to say that I have recently been witness to some _very_ unreasonable things," Marcus said.

"You're preaching to the choir," Hoffman quipped. Green elbowed him in the side. "Ow," Hoffman muttered.

"So... please enlighten me," Marcus said.

"Those were the remains of the crew," Green said. "The giants?" Marcus asked him. "I think so," Green said. "And what about those... other things in the room? What was that thing on the wall?" Marcus asked him.

"Well, it looked like one of the giants being... cocooned or partially converted into... an egg," Brooks said. "An egg? Like the ones that the facehugger came from?" Marcus asked him.

"Possibly. That's what Fairbank seems to think. It's why he's having a nervous breakdown," Brooks replied. Nodding his head in understanding, Marcus glanced over at Fairbank, who was now being treated by Elliot with a mild sedative.

"Elliot, that'd better not knock him out," Marcus warned. "I need him functional, not asleep," he added. "I'm well aware, Marcus. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Elliot said with a nod of his head as he inserted the needle into Fairbank's outstretched arm.

Marcus then turned his attention back to the three men in the chairs. "Okay, did you bring the scanning probes back or did you leave them in the ship?" he asked them. "We left them in the ship," Brooks replied.

"Now, did you turn them off?" Marcus asked them.

"Yes. To save on power," Brooks replied.

"Okay. Now... what the hell were those other... things in the room?" Marcus asked the three men. Hoffman shook his head with a sigh, while Brooks glanced at the floor uncertainly. "We... don't know," Green said.

"They looked similar to the giants with their... ribbed bodies," Marcus noted. "They were them!" Fairbank said after Elliot withdrew the needle. Marcus and the others all glanced over at him. "Those face-things... they turned them into monsters. They came from the eggs, then they turned the giants into those monsters, and the monsters captured the crew and turned them into more eggs," Fairbank said in a panicked tone.

"Um... okay then," Marcus said carefully, not really believing Fairbank but not willing to set him off either. "You saw that thing on the wall, didn't you?" Fairbank asked him in a slightly calmer manner, the sedative slowly taking effect.

"Well, yeah. But, I mean... you think that all of the eggs in the ship were once... its crew?" Marcus asked him. "Well... maybe. I don't... I don't know," Fairbank said, still upset but marginally more collected than he had been earlier.

"Hey, Marcus?" Hoffman asked. "Yeah?" Marcus asked as he turned around to look at the miner. "How's, uh, how's Eastman doing?" the miner asked.

"Well, the facehugger has... detached itself and died," Marcus said. The other men all looked at him with expressions of surprise on their faces. "It... it did?" Green asked Marcus. Marcus nodded his head in affirmation.

"Is Eastman awake?" Hoffman asked. "No. He's still in a coma," Marcus replied. Hoffman hung his head in dismay.

"Do we know when he'll wake up? _If_ he'll wake up?" Green asked him. Marcus glanced over at Elliot. "Yes?" Elliot asked when he realized that Marcus was giving him an expectant look.

"Elliot? Do we know when or if Eastman will wake up?" Marcus asked him. Elliot shook his head. "I can't say. I still have to run tests on him to find out what happened to the sedative in his system. Without the facehugger attached to him, the sedative should have killed him, yet he's shown no signs of toxic shock or vital organ failure so far," Elliot replied.

"Well then, just... keep monitoring him and keep us posted," Marcus said before walking back over to the doors of the medical lab. "I'm gonna have Lieutenant Goodwin accompany me to the operations center and call for a briefing in a couple hours," Marcus said as he opened the inner doors. "Elliot, I want you to finish with this group checkup, and then send them to the operations center when you're finished. Oh, I also want the rest of you to help out Fairbank until he's functional again," Marcus said before entering the lab and closing the doors behind him.

* * *

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER...**

"And that's what we know so far," Marcus said as he showed everyone the holographic displays of the probe scans. He looked around at the men and women standing, leaning against terminals, and sitting in chairs throughout the room. "Any questions?" he asked.

Burns raised a hand. "Yes, Burns?" Marcus asked the pilot. Burns glanced around before returning her focus to Marcus and clearing her throat.

"Do we have pictures and video of this stuff?" she asked him. "No, we don't have any pictures or video recordings. Are you volunteering to join the next group to go inside the ship before we seal it off?" Marcus asked her in response.

"Wait, seal it off?" Brooks asked worriedly as he stepped away from the display table.

"Yes, Brooks. We're going to seal off the ship once we collect the video and photographs of the interior. Given what's happened so far, most of our future drilling and collection operations are going to have to be conducted very carefully or put on hold until we can redirect our mining equipment to go in a different location. We can't risk drilling into the side of this thing again and opening a room with a bunch of... things inside of it," Marcus said in response.

"Why did we even sell it to Weyland-Yutani in the first place?" Brooks asked in dismay, realizing that his chance to explore the ship would soon be gone.

Garfield scoffed at the geologist. "Give me a break," he spat. "You've seen what's inside this ship. If anything, you should be _glad_ that you won't have to deal with it anymore," Garfield said to Brooks.

Bowman looked at Garfield curiously. "Um... Garfield? When we first arrived, you were all but salivating at the chance to claim this thing for the company. What's with the change in tone?" Bowman asked his superior.

Garfield raised his bandaged hand and splint. "Look at my hand, Bowman. And go look at Eastman in the medical lab," Garfield said in response, shooting a glare at Bowman. "This ship has given everyone more problems than I had thought possible," he added.

"Well," Marcus said reluctantly, "I have to agree with you on _that_." He then looked back over at Burns, who was whispering something into Rains's ear. "Have you given me your answer yet? Burns?" Marcus asked her.

"Yeah?" she asked him without paying attention. "Splendid," Marcus said with a smile on his face. This caused Burns to look at him quizzically.

"Wait, what do you mean? What did I... aw hell," she muttered with a grimace as she realized what she had just unintentionally agreed to do, raising a palm to her face at the same time. Standing next to her, Rains chuckled at her misfortune.

"Ahem," Marcus said, getting everyone's attention again. "Now, I'm going to take a team into the ship, including Brooks and Burns, to photograph the interior before we seal it off. I'd like Green and Hoffman to come along, along with one more person. It'll be an even six people exploring the interior and recording it," Marcus said.

"So, who's lucky number six?" Marcus asked as he scanned the room. No one seemed eager to volunteer for the assignment. Eventually, Garfield let out a sigh.

"I nominate Bowman to go along," Garfield said. Bowman looked at him aghast, his mouth hanging open in shock. "W-What!?" Bowman shrieked at Garfield.

"You heard me, Bowman. Besides, you're the official liaison. Go with them," Garfield insisted. He then raised his bandaged hand again. "I mean, I've already tried to help them, so I think it's your turn now. Besides, I'm technically your _boss_ ," Garfield said with a warning tone.

"Yes, Mister Garfield," Bowman said reluctantly. He cast his gaze down to the floor in dismay before raising his hand to volunteer. "I... uh, I volunteer to go into the... creepy ship of death and ancient horrors," Bowman said bitterly.

"That's the spirit," Garfield said with a smirk as he playfully slapped Bowman on the back with his good hand. Bowman let out a dismal sigh before glancing over at Burns. At least he wouldn't be alone in his discomfort.

* * *

 **NINETY MINUTES LATER, INSIDE THE ENGINEER SHIP...**

Shining a flashlight at the petrified corpses on the floor, Bowman gulped. "What the hell happened here?" he asked with a grimace. Burns walked up behind him and tapped on his shoulder.

"Start taking pictures," she said as she handed him a large camera. Bowman nodded his head and kneeled on one knee as he began taking stills of the corpses. He soon moved to a new position to take more pictures of the dead giants on the floor, while Burns was busy taking pictures of the one on the wall.

Using the light of her helmet to illuminate the wall before her, Burns carefully angled the camera with each successive picture. A feeling of unease began to build up inside of her with each picture that she took of the partially transformed giant, before she moved on and started taking pictures of the wall, which was covered in some kind of resin. The resin looked similar enough to the ship's already organic aesthetic, yet there was undeniably something off about it, especially where the one giant on the other wall was clearly cocooned.

Burns noticed how Marcus and Brooks, both standing under the cocooned giant, seemed so much smaller in comparison. She deftly took a small number of pictures for comparison purposes, before focusing her attention on the lone female giant on the floor, which was already being photographed by Bowman. Looking past Bowman, Burns finally focused on the other creatures in the room.

She took notice of how the creatures shared much of the same physical characteristics as the giants, with biomechanical bodies and almost-exoskeletal torsos, which seemed to fit with the aesthetic appearance of the ship's interior as well. The four dorsal tubes on the back were different, and the phallic heads were also distinct. The hands and feet of the creatures were also very different from the giants' feet, which were so very similar to those of humans.

"And the weird get weirder," she mumbled to herself as she glanced over at the cocooned giant again, this time paying attention to the hole in its torso. Glancing back at the creature on the floor, Burns frowned. There was something about the hole in the torso that made her skin crawl, as did the creatures on the floor and the bodies of the giants. The entire room made her skin crawl, in fact. _Still, you have a job to do, so do it,_ Burns told herself mentally. Putting her unease aside, Burns took a deep breath and began taking pictures again.

* * *

 **BACK INSIDE TAROS STATION, TWO HOURS LATER...**

After stepping out of their pressure suits and collecting their gear, Marcus ordered Hoffman, Green, and Brooks to take the cameras and recording equipment, along with the collected probes, over to the geology lab and nearby computer lab for data archiving. Meanwhile, Marcus ordered Burns and Bowman to follow him to the medical lab one level up, taking the personnel elevator. Leaning back against the elevator's interior, Bowman let out a sigh.

"I don't wanna go back in there again," he muttered as he closed his eyes. Burns glanced at him and shrugged her shoulders. "Can't say I blame you," she quipped. "That place gave me the creeps, too," she added.

"Quit whining already," Marcus said, rolling his eyes. Burns frowned at him as she adjusted her cowboy hat to hang from the string around her neck. Bowman, opening his eyes, looked the woman up and down. He still couldn't understand why she wore the hat when she was away from the shuttle.

As the elevator doors opened, the trio stepped out into the hallway and made their way down the corridor before nearing the entrance to the medical lab, where muffled shouting could be heard from within the room. "What the hell?" Burns asked as she walked up to the door and placed her head against it. There were two male voices raging against one another inside the room, one of which she recognized as Elliot, but the other one... wasn't familiar, meaning that it was likely Garfield's voice.

Opening the door, the trio stepped inside and saw Garfield standing opposite of Elliot as the two men argued over what to do about Eastman. "He should be kept here or frozen until he can be taken to a _proper_ medical facility!" Garfield yelled. Neither man had noticed the three onlookers yet.

"Station Five _has_ a proper medical facility, Mister Garfield! Transporting him there will increase his chances of survival," Elliot countered. "Chances of survival? Moving him around could complicate things further! Right now he's in a coma; moving him could kill him!" Garfield snapped back.

"Well just whose fault is it that this happened in the first place?" Elliot hissed at him, narrowing his eyes at Garfield in contempt. "Back off! I didn't know that those things were down there!" Garfield retorted.

"So? Your greed is what got him into this mess, and as soon as someone tries to do something to help him, you want to throw a fit? Go _fuck yourself_ , asshole!" Elliot spat at Garfield. Garfield glared at Elliot and practically snarled in response, but he restrained himself. "Get out of my lab and go eat some lasagna," Elliot then added, causing Garfield to cease his self-restraint.

Garfield let out a yell as he rushed forward, barreling straight towards Elliot. "Don't make those fucking jokes around me!" he spat as he tried to deck the droid. Elliot caught his fist and his other hand while Burns and Marcus rushed over to apprehend Garfield, grabbing him by the sides and pulling him away from Elliot.

"Get off of me!" Garfield spat angrily at them. "I'm gonna rip your circuits out! You hear me, you stupid machine!? I'll pull all of your wires out for that joke!" he yelled before Burns pulled away from behind and spun him around to face her. "Huh?" he asked as she drew back her right arm before letting a fist fly forward, decking him in the face and sending him toppling into a medical cabinet. Garfield then fell to the floor and looked around in shock before realizing that his lip was bleeding.

"Y-You... bitch," he muttered in surprise and anger. "Yeah," Burns said while glaring at the man on the floor. "And don't you forget it," she added contemptuously.

Marcus then cleared his throat. "Mister Garfield... will you please explain to me... just _**what the FUCK**_ is going on!?" Marcus demanded with a glare. Garfield looked down at the floor with a sigh before trying to stand up and face Marcus.

"Well... your medical staff is determined to jeopardize Mister Eastman's health by moving him and transporting him to another facility, with no guarantee that anything will change," Garfield explained, eyeing Elliot. Marcus processed Garfield's words before looking over in Elliot's direction. "Mister Yulan... is this true?" Marcus asked him seriously.

"I need your permission, sir, but I think that moving Eastman to the facility at Station Five would allow for better treatment and testing. I have only myself and this small clinical office area. I don't really have a full suit like you'd find at a larger station," Elliot explained.

Marcus nodded his head. "Okay, soooooo... like, what's with the violence, man?" Marcus asked both men. Garfield wiped his bleeding lip on his shirt sleeve. "You heard his 'lasagna' joke. Don't make those jokes around me," Garfield spat bitterly.

"You don't like lasagna?" Marcus asked him. "Go to hell," Garfield spat, glaring at Marcus intently. A throat being cleared caught Garfield's attention and he glanced over at Burns, who was standing nearby with folded arms across her chest.

"Mister Garfield... please explain why you think it's a bad idea to move Eastman to another facility," Burns requested. Marcus looked at her skeptically. "Burns, let me do the-" "It isn't safe," Garfield said, interrupting Marcus.

"I'm sorry? My boss distracted me. So, could you say that again, please?" Burns asked Garfield after shooting a glare at Marcus. "I said, it isn't _safe_ ," Garfield repeated. "For Eastman?" Burns asked him. "That's right. He's in a coma, and being transported means not only being physically _moved_ but also having to be put in a pressure suit or go through airlocks and deal with potential changes in air or gas pressure. Those variables could potentially _kill him_ or make the coma _permanent_ at this point," Garfield said.

A thoughtful expression overcame both Burns and Marcus, who then glanced over at Elliot with questioning looks. "Elliot... why is the corporate suit making more logical sense than you?" Burns asked the droid. Elliot sighed in frustration before speaking.

"Technically, he is correct about those possibilities. Putting those aside, I believe that it is within everyone's best interest to move Eastman to Station Five, which has much more equipment and a larger staff on hand. I can only do so much on my own," Elliot explained.

"Well, if physically moving him is a real danger, then wouldn't that make taking him anywhere a bad idea?" Burns asked Elliot. "Yes. Yes, but I am running out of options at this point. The longer Eastman remains comatose, the lower his chances of waking up become," Elliot replied.

"Alright, Elliot?" Marcus asked the droid. "Just... wait another twenty-four hours. If nothing changes by then, we'll go with trying to transport him to Station Five. Burns, I want the tractor prepped and ready to go in twelve hours," Marcus said, turning his attention to the pilot.

"Wait, what's _the tractor?_ " Bowman asked, not having been informed about the vehicle on either of his previous two visits to the mining station. "It's a land-roving vehicle that we can use when performing surveys or visiting other stations. It should be able to get us to Station Five in a few hours time if we go at a modest speed," Burns replied.

"Why wasn't I told about it during my previous visits?" Bowman asked her. Burns simply shrugged her shoulders in response. " _Right_. How many people can it hold?" Bowman asked, turning his attention to Marcus.

"It can hold about six people, and it has room for an emergency stasis tube inside," Marcus replied. "A stasis tube?" Garfield asked with interest. "Yeah, but what's with the sudden interest? You wanna go to sleep for the rest of this ordeal?" Marcus replied as he shifted his gaze over to Garfield.

"I'd rather just leave for the Benthic," Garfield replied honestly. "Sorry, but you got us into this, and you're staying until it's over," Marcus said firmly in response. Garfield glanced over at Eastman worriedly before glancing back over at Marcus.

"Are there any stasis tubes inside the station right now?" Garfield finally asked. "Yeah, but I don't think we need to use them on someone who's comatose. In fact, that may not be a great idea at all," Marcus said. "Well, putting him into cold sleep, and then taking him out after a while, could possibly-" "I don't think it works quite like that, Mister Garfield," Elliot interjected.

"Well, we have to do _something_ about the man's condition," Garfield stated. Burns, Marcus, Elliot, and even Bowman, all looked at Garfield curiously. "Garfield... just why do you care so much about what happens to Eastman? And don't give me an excuse about not being able to leave until he's recovered," Marcus asked the man.

"It's called being responsible," Garfield spat. Burns raised an eyebrow at the man's response. She didn't believe him. "Bullshit," Burns muttered. "You just don't wanna be held liable or get sued for what happened to him," she added.

Garfield looked at Burns, shocked by her accusations... which were not entirely incorrect, but Garfield knew that he couldn't just tell them what was really going on inside Eastman's body. Even after seeing the ship, it was unlikely that they'd believe him without evidence. And showing them that evidence would put him in hot water, not just with other knowledgeable Weyland-Yutani executives, but with the miners, who would no doubt accuse him of _intentionally_ putting one of their own in this predicament.

"Fine. I'll just... go to the guest quarters until you need me," Garfield said solemnly as he slowly shuffled over to the exit doors. He then turned around to look at the others. "Um... is it at all possible that I could get a bandage for something for my lip?" he asked.

"Sure," Elliot said flatly as he walked over to a medical cabinet and opened it before retrieving some generic adhesive medical strips.

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE**

"Aaaanndd... it's done," Rains said with a smile. Torres and Milo both looked over at him in relief. The final stage of the maintenance job was finished. The shuttle was now cleared for usage again. "Shame that Burns couldn't be here to announce it," Rains said with a chuckle.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER, THREE HOURS LATER...**

Marcus leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Sitting at his post, Martin glanced over at Marcus curiously. "No change in Eastman's condition?" Martin asked him.

"I've been away from the lab for nearly three hours now, John. I wouldn't know if anything has happened since I left. But, no, nothing had changed before I left either," Marcus said, bitterly _and_ tiredly. Right now, Marcus wanted nothing more than to go to his quarters and sleep.

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 18th, 2137**

 **THE GALLEY**

Sitting down at a table, Marcus opened a packet of syrup and drizzled it over his square pancakes. Picking up his coffee mug, he sipped his warm beverage and began eating his food, noticing that several other personnel were doing the same at other tables, including Burns, Rains, Milo, Torres, and Lieutenant Goodwin. The two corporate suits were also eating by themselves as well, with Garfield's injured hand having healed during the night, since he was no longer wearing bandages or small splints on his right hand.

Picking at his food, Marcus slowly brought bite after bite of his pancakes to his mouth, chewing each piece listlessly before taking another sip of his coffee. Glancing around, Marcus saw that the other personnel were not as gloomy as he was, with Milo and Rains both talking animatedly with each other and Burns as they ate their food. Still slowly eating his food, Marcus was only halfway through his second pancake when Elliot's voice broke over the intercom system.

" _Attention, will Operations Director Fred Marcus, Security Lieutenant Samantha Goodwin, and Weyland-Yutani executive Marvin Garfield please report to the medical lab at your earliest convenience? Thank you, that is all,_ " Elliot said before the intercom system became silent again. Around the room, everyone simply stared up at the intercom speaker on the wall in confusion.

Bowman quietly nudged Garfield, who glared at the younger man before picking up his tray and taking it over to the trash disposal to dump its contents, keeping his breakfast burrito in his right hand as he did so. Marcus and Goodwin both followed suit, with Marcus hurriedly finishing his pancakes before licking the plate clean and putting the tray away. Goodwin finished eating her food as well before depositing her tray on the dirty tray rack, which was then taken by the automatic cleaning system.

Everyone else watched as the trio exited the room, with Burns quietly excusing herself and leaving the rest of her food for Milo and Rains. She had actually been the first person to enter the galley that morning anyway, already dressed in her usual garb after getting a morning shower, and her current tray of food was actually her second one, not that there was much on it beyond a single untouched piece of french toast and a few crumbs from a square hash brown with some ketchup stains on the plate. Rains sarcastically thanked her for the extra tray that he would have to carry later as the pilot quickly grabbed her coffee and followed the three named persons out of the room, leaving her cowboy hat on the top of her head.

"Burns? What are you doing?" Marcus asked the pilot after noticing the woman jogging up behind him and the others. "I'm bored, and I wanna be included when something interesting happens," she replied after catching up. Goodwin snorted at the explanation.

"Besides, I'm curious to see how Eastman's condition has changed," Burns added. "I'd like to know right away if I need to help take Eastman to the tractor or not," she continued. Marcus nodded his head in understanding as they made their way through the corridors of the station.

After about ten minutes of paced walking, the group finally reached the doors of the medical laboratory. Marcus grabbed the phone from the comm system and pressed a button. "Elliot, we're here. What is it you wanted us here for? Has Eastman's condition changed?" Marcus asked into the comm system.

" _Yes. He's awake,_ " Elliot said over the phone for the comm system. Marcus's eyes widened as he heard the news. He glanced around at the others. "Eastman's awake," Marcus said. "We heard him through the speaker," Burns said.

"Uh, Elliot? Exactly _how_ awake is Eastman?" Marcus asked through the phone. " _He's already whined about using a bedpan in front of me. I think he's gained an expanded vocabulary from his recent experience,_ " Elliot said with a hint of humor in his voice. A muffled voice could be heard faintly in the background.

" _I'm opening the doors now,_ " Elliot said through the phone before hanging up. The doors soon slid open simultaneously, allowing the four people outside to enter the medical lab. "Bill!" Marcus exclaimed with a smile as he saw Eastman sitting on the edge examination table.

Looking over at the four people entering the room, Eastman let out a small chortle before smiling at them. "Hey, what's up?" he asked the group as they approached him. "Uh... you?" Burns replied humorously.

Eastman chuckled lightly at her response. "Yeah. I guess I am," Eastman said with a smile as three of the four people stood around him. Garfield, however, hung back and simply leaned back against the wall next to the doors, a brief expression of remorse crossing his face before hiding it as he saw Elliot glance over at him before looking back at Eastman and the others.

"So, how are you feeling?" Marcus asked Eastman as he sipped his coffee. "Uh... well, I've felt worse, but then again I've also felt better," Eastman replied as he rubbed the back of his neck before focusing his gaze on Marcus's coffee mug. He breathed through his nose to catch the smell of the beverage, before also looking over at the cup that Burns was holding as well.

"Oh, that smells good," Eastman muttered, licking his lips. "Well, it tastes good too," Burns said before sipping her coffee in front of him. "You are... made of _bitch_ ," Eastman muttered. "Damn straight," Burns said with a smirk.

"You wanna get _me_ something to drink, please?" Eastman asked her. "Nah, you can walk now. Get it yourself, ya lazy bum," Burns joked. "Hey, screw you," Eastman returned with a smile.

"Ahem," Elliot said as he walked forward. "Yes, doctor?" Eastman asked the droid. "I didn't say this earlier, but... good morning," Elliot said with a gentle smile. "Uh... yeah. Good, um, morning to you too," Eastman replied with some uncertainty.

Looking over past the group, Eastman saw Garfield leaning back against the wall. "Hey, Mister Garfield," Eastman said. Garfield looked at him in alarm.

"So... uh, what's going on?" Eastman asked the man. Garfield looked confused as he processed Eastman's question. He glanced between the other people in the room before finally focusing on Eastman once more.

"Uh... that thing isn't on your face anymore," Garfield said carefully. A confused look now adopted _Eastman's_ face. "Thing? What thing?" Eastman asked him, before looking around at the others. "What's he talking about?" Eastman asked them.

And now everyone was confused, save for Garfield. "You... don't remember?" Marcus asked Eastman curiously. Eastman looked at him with equal curiosity. "Remember? Remember what?" Eastman asked him.

"The facehugger," Burns said. Eastman looked at her quizzically. "The... the _what?_ " he asked her incredulously. "You know, the facehugger," Marcus said to him. Eastman simply stared at him as though he had grown two heads.

"It attached itself to your face while you were inside the ship two days ago. It put you in a coma and almost ripped off your face. Don't you remember?" Marcus asked him with concern. Eastman looked down at the floor and tried racking his brain for memories of the vent, but he soon came up short.

"No. I... I don't remember anything after... after exiting the elevator," Eastman said with some frustration. Elliot raised an eyebrow at this. "You don't remember anything else?" Elliot asked him. Eastman shook his head in response.

"No. Nothing," Eastman said in disappointment. "But, look, I'm getting kind of hungry. Can I have something to eat, please?" he then asked eagerly.

Marcus chortled. "Sure. Let's get over to the galley," he said with a smile. Leaning back against the wall, Garfield slightly widened his eyes and prepared to protest, only for Elliot to beat him to the punch.

"Negative. You're staying in this room for further testing," Elliot said firmly.

Eastman looked up at the droid incredulously. "W-What!? Oh, come on! Elliot, I've been in a coma for two days, right? I gotta have something to eat," Eastman complained.

"Fine. But you'll remain in here while the food is brought to you," Elliot said in compromise before walking over to the comm system. "Attention, to anyone in the galley," Elliot said.

"Milo and Rains are probably still there," Burns said. Elliot nodded his head before continuing. "Change that to Milo and Rains, please grab some food from the galley using a cart and report to the medical lab within the next half hour. Thank you," Elliot said over the intercom.

"There. You'll have food and we can keep you in here," Elliot said. Eastman groaned in frustration but otherwise remained compliant. "Now, I'm going to test some of your reflexes with standard checkup procedures until the food arrives," Elliot said as he walked over to a drawer and opened it before grabbing some standard equipment.

Meanwhile, still leaning against the wall, Garfield felt something vaguely similar to guilt beginning to eat away at him as he watched Eastman continue interacting with his companions.

 **THE GALLEY, TWENTY MINUTES LATER...**

"What the hell are we grabbing food for?" Milo asked as he retrieved a bowl of macaroni & cheese from the food dispenser and placed it on a tray. The tray was already sitting on a cart, along with a second empty tray next to it, holding napkins and plastic utensils. "Isn't it obvious?" Rains asked him as he retrieved a cube of meatloaf from the next dispenser and placed it on the tray as well.

"They're having an orgy?" Milo asked him sarcastically. "Pfft!" Rains replied. "Hello no! They'd keep quiet if that were the case," he retorted in a humorous fashion. "But, no, Milo. Eastman's awake," Rains added.

"Are you sure?" Milo asked him skeptically.

"Of course, man. Why else would they ask us to deliver food to the medical lab?" Rains responded. Milo began thinking about Rains' explanation. Eventually, he decided to accept it.

"Okay, but why _us?_ I mean, why you and me? Why not send Burns back out here to grab the food?" Milo asked Rains.

Rains placed a lid on a cup of water before looking at Milo thoughtfully. "Hm. You know... she probably told them that we were still here," Rains said. Milo nodded his head in agreement.

"Lazy bitch," Milo muttered. "Doesn't she know that we have things to do?" Milo asked in contempt. Rains looked at him curiously.

"Like what?" Rains asked him.

"Well, like... you know... uh... stuff?" Milo replied. Rains frowned at his subordinate's response and shook his head. "Milo, Milo, Milo. We are bringing food to a friend in need. I think that our scheduled bathroom cleaning can wait," Rains said.

Milo's eyes widened in shock. "We were gonna clean the bathrooms today!?" he asked in horror. Rains nodded his head. "Yep. It's on the schedule, or don't you pay attention to that?" he asked Milo in response.

"Aww man!"

 **THE MEDICAL LAB, TWENTY MORE MINUTES LATER...**

As the doors slid open to the room, Eastman looked up in relief as he saw the cart carrying the tray of food. "Finally!" he exclaimed hungrily. "You guys are life savers," Eastman said happily as the cart was wheeled over to the examination table.

"Well, it's a good thing we were called when we were. Otherwise, we'd already be cleaning the toilets right now," Milo said. "Oh, that's right. Today's Toilet Day, isn't it?" Marcus as the two men. "Unfortunately," Milo said bitterly.

"Well, I'm glad they caught you," Eastman said with a smile. "I've been starving here for the past hour, and all Elliot wants to do is keep running tests on me. I need some food service here," he said.

"Yeah, but you owe us... fifty bucks for the service," Milo said, prompting Rains to elbow him in the gut. "Ow! What the hell?" Milo asked Rains in a hiss. Burns chuckled at the sight, causing Milo to glare at her.

Elliot quickly cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Now, I know that this is a... joyous occasion, but I would like to discuss something very important," Elliot said with a frown. "Aw, come on! Don't ruin the mood, Elliot," Eastman whined as he prepared to start eating, grabbing some plastic utensils from the second tray.

"Eastman, the latest scan showed a dark region around your chest cavity," Elliot said seriously, causing everyone to look at him in alarm, especially Garfield, who quickly glanced at the still-open doors of the lab with anxiety. "Marcus, I really would like to transport Eastman to Station Five later on. I can only do so much with the equipment that we have here. I know that I sound like a broken record at this point, but Eastman needs to be taken to a larger medical facility with more equipment for more advanced tests and procedures," Elliot said.

Garfield silently nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. That... that's a good point, but why didn't you point this out to us all earlier?" Garfield said, adding his question at the end to make himself seem on the same page as everyone else. Elliot looked at him with a glare before returning his attention to the others.

"I didn't want to spoil the mood," Elliot admitted. "Maybe we shouldn't give him anything to eat until after the tests, then," Marcus said as he reached for the tray of food. "Hell no! I'm starving here!" Eastman said as he dug into the food, shoving it down with ferocity.

Garfield watched the scene with a mix of fear and amusement, noticing how Eastman's appetite was like that of a pregnant woman, which immediately caused alarm bells to start ringing inside his head. " _We're too late_ ," he whispered to himself. He quickly thought of a plan to try to contain the situation that would soon spiral out of control if his predictions were correct.

Walking over to Goodwin, Garfield nudged her in the shoulder. "Say, does Eastman look a little... pale to you?" Garfield asked, feigning curiosity. Goodwin raised an eyebrow at Garfield before glancing at Eastman. "What are you talking about? He's been in a coma for two days," she replied.

Garfield shook his head. "Hey, Eastman, buddy? Try slowing down there with the food. You're gonna choke on it if you don't take some time to breathe," Garfield said cautiously. Eastman stopped eating for just a few seconds to glare at Garfield and flip him off. "Fuck you, I'm eating," Eastman spat before he resumed his destruction of the meatloaf cube and macaroni & cheese.

Garfield looked around at the others. Burns was busy conversing with Milo and Rains about something regarding their schedule, with Burns groaning at something that Rains was saying. Meanwhile, Marcus was busy drinking his now lukewarm coffee as he leaned back against a medical cabinet, his attempts to stop Eastman having been rendered futile.

Elliot had absconded over to his computer to bring up the images of the scans in order to begin trying to prove his point to everyone, and Eastman was still wolfing down his food, taking sips of his water in between every other bite. Garfield, quietly gulped as he began to slowly back away from the man and over to the doors. He was about halfway to the doors when Eastman stopped eating.

"Hey, Bill, you okay?" Marcus asked. Eastman didn't respond. Instead, he adopted a concerned and confused look on his face as he began to hiccup. He began to chuckle as he hit his chest to stop them, only to feel an intense pain shoot through him. He began to make gagging noises as he dropped the cup of water onto the floor.

Garfield watched quietly with a nervous expression as horror began to dawn on him. "Hey, Uh, Elliot? I-I think Eastman needs your help," Garfield said, grabbing the droid's attention. Elliot looked away from his computer and over at Eastman, who was starting to cough and gag.

"Shit!" Elliot hissed as he bolted from his chair over to Eastman's side. Garfield quickly ran over to the intercom system. "Attention, all available personnel report to the medical lab! We need assistance in here. That includes you, Bowman!" Garfield shouted over the intercom before closing the doors.

Marcus ran over and pulled him away from the box. "What are you doing!?" Marcus asked him. Garfield opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Elliot shouting for help.

"I need to sedate him!" Elliot yelled. Garfield and Marcus both ran over to the exam table, where Elliot was holding down the struggling Eastman. "Aack! Aagh! I-I it hurts! I can't breathe!" Eastman shouted, terrified by the pain pulsing through him. He soon began to taste copper in his mouth.

Burns was on the other side of the table as she tried to hold down Eastman by his left arm, with Milo and Rains holding his side and left leg. "He-Help!" Eastman cried out painfully, gagging and screaming before letting out a horrified cry as blood spurted from his chest when a small lump protruded from it. He stopped struggling for a few seconds, before starting up again.

"Jesus, what's wrong with him!?" Burns cried out in horror. "The facehugger! It must've done something to him!" Garfield shouted. Eastman looked up at the ceiling in terror before screwing his eyes shut in pain as he let out one last horrified cry. "I-help! He-heeeeeellaaaaaaaacck!" Eastman cried out before blood shot up from his chest, and loud wet crunching noises were heard simultaneously, just before something tore through the front of his gown, spraying blood everywhere.

Garfield found his face covered in blood, with Marcus getting sprayed in the hands and chest. Burns had pulled down her cowboy hat to cover her face from the spray, while Milo and Rains had gotten their uniforms splattered. Elliot's entire right arm had blood drizzled on it, and some of his chin, with Goodwin having been standing in just the right spot to avoid being hit with anything more than a few drops of blood by sheer accident. She was still standing in shock, transfixed by the scene before her.

Meanwhile, Eastman had stopped screaming and was now only let out small whimpering and gurgling noises, before he soon stopped making any noises all together. Meanwhile, rising out of Eastman's chest was a blood-covered creature, almost serpentine in appearance, but with flesh that looked remarkably like that of a human, being pale pink in color with visible, albeit faint, yellow stripes in places that blood wasn't covering. Everyone else in the room stepped back, save for the stunned Goodwin, as the small phallic creature rose up further and looked around the room, just as the the doors opened and Bowman rushed inside, followed by Torres.

"What's going on!? What... the... fuck?" Bowman asked in shock as he saw Eastman lying dead on the table, with the small... _chestburster_ waving its head around slowly. Bowman was now at a loss for words as he tried to process the sight.

The chestburster moved its head in the direction of the doorway and lifted its head up and down slowly, before letting out a hiss and a shrill cry at the humans around it. It quickly snaked forward, pulling the rest of itself out of Eastman's chest cavity as it raced down his torso and over the edge of the table. Garfield quickly snapped out of his stupor and moved forward to catch the creature, grabbing it by the tail with both hands as he looked over at a tool tray, seeing a scalpel laying on the tray. If he could just reach the scalpel, he could contain the situation and end it right then and there.

The yellow-striped chestburster, however, would have none of this. It quickly turned around and lunged at Garfield's right hand. "Someone grab the scalpaaaaaaaaaaallll!" Garfield cried out as the chestburster bit into his hand, drawing blood and forcing him to let go of it. Burns quickly rushed over and grabbed the creature before it whipped its tail at her face, hitting her nose and almost hitting her right eye, causing her to let go with a cry of pain.

The chestburster let out a shriek, almost victorious in tone, and quickly darted forward, leaping onto the floor and side-winding across the surface, passing everyone who quickly stepped out of the way in alarm. It slithered across the floor with the speed of a mouse and soon disappeared out of the room thanks to the open doors. Garfield held his bleeding right hand in pain once again and glanced over at the open doors of the medical lab.

Garfield then looked over at Bowman, looked back over at the doors, and then looked at Bowman again in disgust. "You left the fucking doors open!?" he shrieked at the younger man in disbelief. Bowman simply blinked in confusion before slowly turning to look at the open doors, seeing the trail of blood on the floor left by the chestburster, before looking back at Garfield in bewilderment.

"I... I... how was I supposed to know?" Bowman asked him simply, still in shock over what he and the other people in the room had just witnessed. Everyone else in the room was silent as they looked around at each other, the blood splatters on the various surfaces of the room, and Eastman's corpse. Meanwhile, in the hallways of Taros Station #04, the yellow-striped chestburster continued slithering around, looking for nooks and crannies to hide in as it learned about its environment, before it could begin searching for its most important objective. In order to survive, it had to find that which it had just been deprived of: _sustenance_.

* * *

Author's Notes: And so it begins. Yellow Stripes, or Yellow-Bill, as I will be calling the Xenomorph drone of this story, has just been born. No, his body won't be all yellow, but he will have yellow highlights and a stripe or two in various places. Allow me to explain. See, in my opinion, every batch of Xenomorphs is different in some way.

The Xenomorph of this story, Yellow Stripes or Yellow Bill, is from a different strain of Xenomorph than the ones found in the derelict on LV-426. Both strains are almost identical in terms of physical appearance, except that the Taros Strain, as I am calling the batch found in the ship buried in the moon of Taros, has some differences in coloration and growth rate. Aside from that, Yellow Stripes, after it grows up, will look almost exactly like Kane's Son from the first movie, or the Xenomorphs that infested Sevastopol Station, which both technically came from the same batch of eggs.

While Xenomorphs are technically asexual, I will occasionally use male pronouns to describe Yellow-Stripes for ease of writing, mostly when the human characters are talking or thinking, as they themselves don't really know anything about the creature's sex, and it is in our nature to ascribe gender-based adjectives and pronouns to things.

Also, I forgot to mention this before, but the ship being named the Benthic is indeed a reference to Benthic Petroleum from James Cameron's _THE ABYSS_ (1989).

So, as always, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews. Again, don't hold back with constructive criticism, which is always appreciated.


	7. THE HUNT FOR YELLOW CHESTBURSTER

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 07: THE HUNT FOR YELLOW CHESTBURSTER  
**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 18th, 2137**

 **TAROS STATION #04, MOON OF TAROS**

Elliot zipped the body bag up wordlessly. "Does anybody... have anything to say?" he asked the other people in the room. The rest of the station's personnel, including the other security officers and the remaining administrative staff, had arrived shortly after the chestburster had escaped.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they looked at the body-bag uneasily. What _could_ anyone say after what they had just witnessed? Everyone merely shook their heads quietly in response. He then looked over at Milo and Rains, nodding at them to help him carry the body over to the stretcher cart. Garfield was busy bandaging his hand after cleaning it with disinfectant, while Bowman was helping Marcus and Burns to clean the blood stains off of the various surfaces in the room. Surprisingly, Burns and Marcus's coffee mugs had been untouched by Eastman's blood.

After another ten minutes had passed, Bowman broke the silence. "Okay, so, um, what the hell just happened?" he asked after he had finished rinsing out the rag in his hands over a bucket of sanitized water. No one else bothered to speak. "Come on. Seriously, what the hell is going on here?" he asked again, with a hint of fear present in his voice.

"A man just _died_ ," Garfield said. Bowman nodded his head before looking at Garfield. "Okay. What the _hell_ was that _thing?_ " Bowman asked him.

This time, Elliot spoke up. "It was... some kind of... embryo that had been planted inside of him by the facehugger," the droid said carefully. Everyone looked at him curiously.

Soon, Garfield spoke up. "Look, I know that everyone is having some unusual feelings about what's going on right now, but we need to find that... _thing_. We need to find it and either capture it or kill it before it can hurt anyone else," Garfield said.

"After we've finished cleaning the lab, and after we've given Eastman a burial or at least pay some respects to him," Marcus said. Garfield scoffed at his words. "It took that thing less than _two days_ to gestate inside Eastman, so how long do you think it might take for it to start going through alien puberty?" Garfield said in a condescending manner.

Marcus glared at Garfield. "Hey, _asshole_. Eastman was our friend. He fucking _died_ because _you_ wanted to go back inside the ship so badly," Marcus said, forgetting that Eastman had also expressed a desire, prior to Garfield's request in fact, to also continue mapping out sections of the vessel's interior.

"Yes, and I'm sorry for that. But that doesn't change the facts," Garfield responded firmly, glaring at Marcus with equal intensity. Marcus slowly balled his hands into fists as he began marching over towards Garfield.

" _Marcus_ ," Elliot called out as he put himself between the two men. "Marcus, he has a point. That thing's gestation period _was_ exceptionally fast. It's post-birth growth period may also be consistently quick as well," Elliot said reluctantly.

Marcus inhaled through his nostrils before looking over at Goodwin. "Goodwin, I want you and your officers to head back to the security center," Marcus said. "I want all four of you to grab whatever weapons you can find, along with some nets and tracking equipment, and meet up with the rest of us in the recreation room in two hours," he finished.

The four security personnel all silently nodded their heads in understanding before filing out of the lab. "Wait! Wait," Garfield called out, prompting Goodwin and the others to stop and look back at him. "What?" Marcus asked the man with annoyance in his voice.

"What kind of weapons does this station have, exactly? I mean, if this thing shares the same kind of blood as the facehugger, then we can't risk shooting it with bullets. It's blood would eat through the station's hull," Garfield said.

"Actually, not all sections of the station are the same thickness in regards to the walls and floors. All exterior walls are the same, of course, but between floor, some places are thicker and some places are thinner," Rains pointed out. Garfield looked at him curiously.

"Thick enough to withstand this thing's blood?" Garfield asked him. "Well... the maintenance garage would have thick enough floors and walls," Rains said in response. "So would the mining lobby, the main airlock, and the elevator. That stuff's solid," Milo said, joining in.

"But that's one floor below us, so we have to find it and either flush it into an elevator or capture it and take it down in an elevator to that level and then just... you know, throw it out the airlock," Marcus said. "Or, I guess, we could just break its neck with a pipe or a crowbar or something. Bash its brains in," he added with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It might still bleed if you do that," Garfield noted dryly, causing Kendricks to chuckle. "Well, maybe a shock from a taser will do the trick," the deputy said. "Or, we could just catch it and throw it out an airlock on _any_ level. We have an airlock for outside maintenance on this level and the one above us," he added.

"Um, out of curiosity," Garfield started. "What kind of weaponry do you guys have?" he asked once again. "We have riot shotguns, pistols, revolvers, tasers, batons, and that's about it. Small stuff, nothing fancy, except the riot ammunition," Goodwin said.

"What's the riot ammunition?" Bowman asked her. "Bean bag rounds and rubber bullets for the shotguns and revolvers. They aren't intended for lethal usage, but they can still be deadly if they hit you in the right spot, so... the same rules that apply to guns using real bullets should be applied here as well," Goodwin said sternly.

"Yeah. Yeah, if we find it soon enough, we can shoot it with rubber bullets and kill it without the risk of spilling its blood," Burns said, leaning back against a recently-cleaned spot on the wall. "Bring a shotgun for me," she requested.

"Do you have a license to use a firearm? Do you even know how to use a gun?" Goodwin asked her. "Yes," Burns replied, "I have firearms training. My father used to take me hunting with him when I was a kid," Burns replied.

"A hunting rifle isn't the same as a riot shotgun," Goodwin retorted. "My dad used a sporting shotgun. I think it was a Remington model. Do you have any of those?" Burns asked her in response. "No. We have Mossbergs," Goodwin replied.

"Close enough," Burns said.

Goodwin rolled her eyes before ordering the other three security officers to resume their exit. When they were gone, the rest of the people in the room looked around at the remaining blood stains on the walls and furniture. "Alright, let's finish cleaning up, and then... we'll take Eastman's body to a cold-storage locker. Although, Martin, I want you to go back to the operations center and grab as many communication headsets as you can carry, along with radios and walkie-talkies. Grab a cart or a box and bring them to the rec room while we put Eastman's body away," Marcus said. "After that, we'll all meet up in the rec room with security in about two hours and pool our options," he added.

* * *

 **THE RECREATION ROOM, TWO HOURS LATER...**

Lying on the top of both the pool table and ping pong table were six Mossberg Model 590A01 riot shotguns, all with flashlights taped to the underside, accompanied by several boxes of riot ammunition. Most of the ammo boxes held rubber bullets, bean bag rounds, and wooden slugs. Two other boxes, however, contained regular lethal rounds, primarily slugs, which were solid rounds. The shotguns had picatinny rails on them as well, allowing for modular attachments, such as scopes and laser sights.

On the ping pong table were four bundled up nets, seven hand-held pistol-grip long-arm tasers, three hand-held pistol-grip short-arm tasers, four batons, eight canisters of pepper spray, six revolvers, and six boxes of riot ammunition for the revolvers. The only pistols were those in the holsters of the security officers, each one a different model.

Taking up the last bit of space on the ping pong table were a handful of motion trackers, two of which were modified civilian pest control models made by Symnet Industries, while the rest were professional security models, designed by Securi-Corp, a company which had just been bought two years prior by Weyland-Yutani. The professional models had large handles and small screens, along with various buttons and gears for control settings, while the pest models were bulky and also had screens, but with long funnel-like protrusions on the end for the scanning modules, and only a few setting controls. The had Velcro straps on one side for being carried, but were otherwise meant to be stationary.

"No Arious models?" Bowman asked, having seen such models used by pest control companies back on Thedus. Brown scoffed at him. "Those things are a pain in the ass to use," Brown said. "To make them actually work competently, you have to modify them, and that violates the warranty, so if anything goes wrong, you're screwed," Brown added.

Rains reached over and touched the pistol-grip of one of the long-arm tasers. "Looks like a cattle prod," he commented as he looked it over. "Don't touch the end of it," Security Sergeant Ryan Brown said. His Sergeant Stripes were pinned above the right breast pocket of his uniform.

"You'll get the shock of a life time," Brown added with a smirk as he chewed some gum. Rains looked down at the end were the taser was held, seeing the two small metal prongs and coils lying inert. He pulled his hand back and put it in his pocket.

"Okay, Burns?" Goodwin asked as she picked up one of the Mossbergs. "You said that you have firearm experience and a license. Show me the license," Goodwin demanded firmly, narrowing her eyes at the pilot, who was still wearing her jacket and had her hat hanging from the back of her neck, once again held in place by a string around her throat. Burns complied by reaching into her jacket's left pocket and removing a small wallet.

The pilot opened the wallet and pulled out a small registration card, with her name and photograph. Burns held up the card and showed it to the lieutenant. "Happy?" Burns asked her. Goodwin read the notes on the card, seeing that Burns was qualified to use small arms and sporting arms. The Mossberg 590A01 was often used as a sporting weapon, meaning that Burns was technically qualified and licensed to handle it.

"Alright. You're good," Goodwin said with a nod of her head. Burns smirked at her and put the card back into her wallet before returning it to her jacket pocket, zipping up the pocket and crossing her arms victoriously. She then unfolded her arms and reached across the table to grab a Mossberg and some rubber bullets to begin loading it, making sure to keep her fingers off the trigger, check the safety setting, and point the barrel away from her comrades.

Goodwin raised an eyebrow and nodded her head in approval as she saw Burns follow basic safety procedures without being told. Meanwhile, Marcus walked over and grabbed a bundled net. "We can catch it in one of these, carry it around, and then beat it or throw it out an airlock," he said as he glanced around the room.

"What if it eats through the net?" Garfield asked him, glancing down at his bandaged hand before looking back up at Marcus. "I doubt that it'll do that," Marcus said. "You _doubt_ that it'll do that? Did you _not_ see how it reacted when Burns and I tried to catch it? It'll chew up whatever it can get its mouth on," Garfield retorted, his voice tinged with incredulity at Marcus's response.

"Well, you can hold a baton and bludgeon it if you can catch it before the rest of us," Brown said as he held one out to the Weyland-Yutani executive. Garfield reached out with his left hand and took the baton. "Thanks," he said curtly.

"Ah, just step on its head," Milo said flippantly. "Sure, I mean, with how small it is, we'll probably step on it _by accident_ while looking for it," Rains said with a chuckle. Garfield simply stared at the two men, subtly shaking his head at how unaware they were of the true nature of the organism.

"Where do we start looking?" Jeff Green asked. "The level below us, where the medical lab and infirmary are located," Marcus said. He looked around at the others again. "Okay, let's start assigning groups," he said.

"Goodwin, you take Green, Hoffman, and Torres with you. You'll be Red Team," Marcus said before looking over at Burns. "Burns, you take Rains, Milo, and Mister Bowman. You'll be Blue Team," Marcus told her. Burns looked at Marcus and nodded her head.

"Brown, you take Fairbank, Martin, and Brooks. You'll be Yellow Team," Marcus said before focusing his attention on deputies Mick Hansen and Steve Kendricks. "Kendricks, you'll be with me, Garfield, and Elliot. We'll be Green Team," he said firmly, glancing over at Garfield.

"Wait, what about me?" Hansen asked Marcus. "You'll be in the security center, checking the video feed and giving us updates if you see if anything," Marcus replied.

"Do I get to keep the baton?" Garfield asked Marcus. Marcus smirked in response. "Until we kill this little bastard, yes." Marcus then looked over at Martin, who had set a box of headsets and radios on a nearby stool. "Okay, let's get the headsets set up. I want constant communication at all times, and nobody goes off alone for anything. Is that understood?" Marcus asked the group. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

Martin quickly began setting up the headsets and distributing them among the personnel, while the security team began setting up the motion trackers. When the headsets and motion trackers were properly set up, the group soon began distributing the nets and weapons among themselves. Everyone agreed to meet up again in either the rec room or the galley after one hour. The group of fifteen soon began filing out of the rec room, beginning their search for the yellow-striped chestburster.

* * *

 **BLUE TEAM, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-A...**

Burns kept her shotgun aimed at the floor as she led Rains, Milo, and Bowman through the corridor, searching for signs of the creature. The shotgun had a wood finish with rubber grips on the trigger area and the pump. Burns made sure to keep her finger on the trigger guard and the safety remained on. Meanwhile, Bowman was holding the net and a security-model motion tracker, while Milo and Rains both held tasers. The group quietly approached a door to one of the restrooms as they turned a corner.

Burns turned on the shotgun's underside flashlight and scanned the floor in front of the restroom door. "My god... it's a door," she said with a hint of humor in her voice. Bowman frowned at her statement.

"How can you joke around after... after... you know?" Bowman asked her, still feeling queasy and uncomfortable after seeing the aftermath of Eastman's death and the chestburster's escape. Burns craned her neck to glance back at him. "We all deal with death in different ways, Bowman. It doesn't mean that I don't care. I just deal with it differently than you do. That's all," she said quietly, but loud enough for Bowman and the others to hear her.

Bowman slowly nodded his head in understanding before glancing back down at the motion tracker. The device had been set up so that all four of them would not be registered on the tracker, but only if they stayed within a certain range of the device and moved together at a certain pace, otherwise, they would be registered as movement. When Burns got close enough for the door's sensors to register her, it slid open, causing the tracker to register the movement.

"Is it nearby?" Milo asked Bowman. Bowman looked back at the door before glancing at Milo and Burns. "No. That was just the door moving," Bowman replied, shaking his head. held out a fist with one finger up to silence the others as she tapped her headset.

"Hey, Mick? Are you seeing anything in our section?" Burns asked over the headset.

" _Hold on just a second,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. There was silence for a minute before he replied again. " _No. I don't see anything near your position as of yet,_ " he finally replied.

"Thanks," Burns said before switching off the headset. Quietly stepping forward, she slowly entered the rest room. Bowman, Milo, and Rains quietly followed behind her as she swept the room with her shotgun and flashlight. "Burns, don't move so far ahead," Bowman whined as she started moving quicker and farther ahead, nearing the edge of the "friendly" range on the motion tracker.

Burns groaned in annoyance before slowly crouching down to glance under each stall. The light from the flashlight illuminated the wall behind each toilet, until Milo turned on the lights. Burns quickly turned off the flashlight before glaring at Milo. He shrugged his shoulders in confusion. "What?"

* * *

 **GREEN TEAM, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-D...**

Marcus gripped his net tightly as the group moved forward, nearing the entrance of one of the supply rooms. Garfield held his baton at the ready, while Elliot held the motion tracker in both hands, carefully stepping forward as Hansen and Kendricks covered the front and rear of the group. "Hansen, this is Marcus. We're near Supply Room Zero-Two-A. Do you see anything nearby or in the room, over?" Marcus asked over the headset.

" _Checking... I don't see any-wait... there's something on the floor in the supply room. Right next to a skid. It isn't moving but I don't think it's supposed to be there. Tread with caution, guys,_ " Hansen said over the headset. Marcus nodded his head and motioned for Elliot to move forward and open the door.

"Steady," Elliot said cautiously, glancing back at the group before slowly reaching out and pressing a button on the wall to open the doors of the supply room. The motion tracker, one of the professional security models, pinged as the doors slid open, before the group slowly moved forward into the room. Kendricks both slowly swept the area, using the flashlights on their shotguns to illuminate the interior of the supply room, showing the various pallets and low-lying benches with boxes and bags. There were several crates and boxes of tools, food, clothes, and medical supplies scattered around the room, along with maintenance equipment.

The group slowly spread out as they entered the room, shining flashlights of their own at the various supplies. Walking over to one skid, Garfield saw that some of the saran wrap had been torn up and that there were some boxes scattered on the floor. "Hey, guys," Garfield called out quietly, motioning for everyone to convene over at his location.

Garfield knelt down and shone his light on the scattered bits of paperboard and food particles laying about, frowning as he saw the various bags, boxes, and ripped up cans of food on the floor. "It's already eaten," he muttered as he looked at the various containers that had been chewed up and the pieces of canned meat splattered around the floor and pallet. Some nutritional bars had been wripped open and chewed, but on the ground near the partially-full wrappers were some clearly-spit out bits of the bars.

"Huh. I guess aliens hate those things too," Kendricks said in surprise as he looked at the half-eaten and discarded nutrition bars. Garfield glanced up at him and shrugged his shoulders in silent agreement, before standing up and shining his light on a trail of food bits on the floor, leading him around the room before heading back to the door. Elliot soon walked up behind him. "It's already left the area, hasn't it?" Elliot asked him.

Garfield nearly jumped out of his skin before turning around to glare at Elliot. "Yeah. Just... don't sneak up on me like that," Garfield said with a frown. "Sorry," Elliot apologized sheepishly. He turned around and saw Marcus lying on the floor, shining a flashlight underneath the pallet.

"I don't see anything under there," Marcus grunted as he pushed himself off the floor and stood up, adjusting his cap. "Hansen, this is Marcus," Marcus said as he tapped on the headset. "It looks like our guest raided the food in here and then moved on," he said as he looked around.

" _Understood. Hansen out,_ " Hansen said in response.

Marcus glanced around at the others before gesturing for them to make their way out of the room. "Let's move to the next supply room," he said. The group slowly began filing out of the room, with Garfield glancing back at the ruined cans and boxes of food on the floor uneasily.

* * *

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-C...**

Lieutenant Goodwin crouched down on the floor as she held out a hand and told everyone to stop moving as they neared a corner, stopping beside a supply closet and an entrance to a maintenance duct. "What is it?" Green asked her as he glanced down at the motion tracker in his hands. Goodwin gestured for the others to move over to her position. She then pointed at what had caused her to stop moving. There was a torn-up candy bar wrapper on the floor, next to an odd-looking tan thing strewn about on the floor.

"What is that?" Torres asked as Goodwin reached forward and picked up the light-colored object, revealing it to be a transparent and thin film of some kind. Soon, Goodwin realized that it was a husk. "It's shedding its skin," she said in realization.

"Say what?" Torres asked her. "I said it's shedding its skin," Goodwin explained. "Shedding? Like... like a snake?" Hoffman asked her. Goodwin nodded her head in affirmation as she held out the husk for the others to see.

"Hansen, this is Goodwin," Goodwin said into the headset. " _I read you. What's up?_ " Hansen asked her. "Let the others know that we've found a husk from the creature. It's shedding its skin like a snake, so tell them to be on the look out for more skins or other signs of shedding," Goodwin explained.

" _Got it,_ " Hansen said before quickly relaying the message to the other teams. Dropping the husk on the floor, Goodwin slowly began moving forward again, with Green holding the motion tracker. "Hansen, this is Goodwin again. Do you see anything in our section?" Goodwin asked over the headset.

" _Negative. There's nothing in your area,_ " Hansen replied. Goodwin nodded her head in affirmation. "Understood. Goodwin out," she said before continuing forward.

* * *

 **YELLOW TEAM, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-B...**

Sergeant Brown brought his team to a halt as they neared an elevator door. Martin, who was holding the motion tracker, stepped to the side and gave Brown a signal to keep moving forward. Brown kept his shotgun pointed at the floor, while Brooks held the net in his hands, with Fairbank holding a long-arm taser, gripping it tightly to his chest.

A few minutes later, there was a beep on the motion tracker. "Hey, hold on," Martin said as another ping sounded. "We've got movement up ahead," he said.

"How far?" Brown asked him. "Uh... ten meters," Martin replied as he looked at the motion tracker. There was another ping, and a small white dot with a green rim appeared and disappeared with each movement. "It's... moving away from us," Martin said curiously.

"It must know we're gonna throw it out the airlock," Brooks joked. "Eh, maybe. Then again, Hansen said that it had started shedding its skin. If it's going through puberty, maybe it's looking for some _private time_ ," Brown joked in response. The other three men chuckled at Brown's comment before they started moving forward again, slowly tracking the movement with their motion tracker as they crept through the corridors.

"Hansen, we've picked up movement about ten meters or so ahead of us. We're in Section zero-two-B, coming up on a junction between C and E. Can you see anything near those areas?" Brown asked over the headset.

* * *

 **THE SECURITY CENTER**

Sitting in a swivel chair, Mick Hansen looked at the appropriate screens. "Uh... I don't... I don't see anything near those areas yet," Hansen said cautiously. He glanced back and forth between the camera feed for the junction that Brown had given him, and the immediate section corridor cameras connected to that junction.

"Huh. Are you still picking up movement?" Hansen asked Brown as he looked at the empty corridors and junction on the screens. There was no movement. There were no other teams presenting false readings. There was nothing in those locations.

" _Affirmative. it's moving-wait. It just stopped,_ " Brown said over the headset.

"How far away from your position? What's your position?" Hansen asked him. "Brown?" Hansen asked after not hearing a response.

" _We're in corridor zero-two-bee-zero-four. We're almost at the intersection,_ " Brown said over the headset. Hansen glanced up at the screen. Brown and the others were entering the camera's field of view. There was still no sign of anything else in the area.

"I'm sorry, Sarge. There's nothing there," Hansen said as he leaned back in his chair. " _Are you sure?_ " Brown asked him. "Positive. You're the only ones in that hallway. Did you pass any rooms or elevators on your way there?" Hansen asked as he began looking at security feeds for rooms located in that area, most of which were supply rooms and workshops for repairing equipment. There was one small green room on that level, but it was located in another section.

" _Wait... we have movement again. It's ahead of us. Seven meters up ahead,_ " Brown said.

Hansen looked at a screen with the closest camera feed, seeing that an elevator door was opening. "It's an elevator," Hansen said over the headset. "There's an elevator about seven meters up ahead in Section C. Arrows show that it came from one level down. It must've gotten inside it somehow. It might be on Level Three now," Hansen said.

Checking the camera feed, Hansen saw that Red Team was near the elevator. "Brown, Goodwin's team is closer to the elevator. You go in another one while she takes the one up ahead," Hansen said over the headset.

* * *

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-C**

Moving ahead, Goodwin saw Yellow Team in the distance, not too far from the intersection of their sections. Having heard Hansen's suggestion, Goodwin was already ordering Green to get the motion tracker ready for the elevator. As the team neared the doors, Goodwin saw that the down and up buttons were slightly cracked, mostly likely from the creature's tail whipping them. Goodwin remembered how the creature had used its tail to defend itself against Burns earlier.

"This is Goodwin, we are entering the elevator in Corridor C-Six. We have visual confirmation of Yellow Team and are preparing to descend to Level Three," Goodwin said on a wide-band frequency over the headsets. " _Understood, Lieutenant. We're just finishing our sweep of the last supply room in our section. We'll meet you guys down there in ten minutes. Marcus out,_ " Marcus said over the headset. Burns soon spoke over the headset with an identical message.

As Goodwin entered the elevator, the rest of Red Team followed her inside.

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-C**

Stepping out of the elevator, Red Team quietly set up their motion tracker again. Green fiddled with the dials and buttons before getting back to its prior settings. "Always hated these damn things," he muttered in frustration.

"There we go," Green said as the machine was properly calibrated once more. He gently held it in front of him and waved it slowly around in a circle. Goodwin looked at him curiously.

"This is Red Team. We have arrived on Level Three and are preparing to search Section C. Goodwin out," Goodwin said into her headset. "Come on," she said as she turned to her right and began creeping forward.

After a few minutes of silence, the motion tracker beeped. "We got something," Green said as he looked at the small screen. "How far away? Is it Yellow Team?" Goodwin asked him.

"No. Yellow Team's behind us," Green said as he jerked his thumb back. "This signal's ahead of us, to our left, down that corridor," Green said as he looked up and pointed at a T-junction in the hallway. Goodwin raised an eyebrow before shining a light on the floor and looking for signs of the creature.

"Let's go," Goodwin said quietly as she led the team down the hallway, listening to the sounds of the motion tracker as they got closer to the source. "Hansen, this is Goodwin. We're nearing the workshops. Do you see anything on the security feed in this area?" she asked over the headset.

" _Hold on. Let's see... I missed it. I just saw a door closing. It was for workshop three-A. That's a big room. Be careful. There are plenty of places for it to hide in there,_ " Hansen said over the headset.

"Understood. Goodwin out," Goodwin responded. "Come on, guys. It's in the third workshop," she said to the others. She then tapped on her headset again. "Marcus, this is Goodwin. We've picked up a signal inside one of the workshops. We're moving in to secure the creature, over."

" _Make sure it's not a false alarm. And make sure the thing can't escape once you go inside the room. Close the door behind you. I'm taking Green Team to check out the shower rooms right now, just to be safe. Let us know when you've found the damn thing. Marcus out,_ " Marcus said over the headset.

"Understood. Goodwin out," Goodwin replied as they drew closer to the room. The motion tracker was still letting out pings of movement as they approached the door. Torres held out the capture net as she walked over behind Goodwin, with Hoffman moving to the woman's side as the team fanned out, with Green standing next to the door with the motion tracker.

"Okay, on my signal," Goodwin said quietly as she glanced around. Torres was positioned in front of the door, standing just far enough away to avoid triggering its sensors, while Goodwin and Hoffman were both by her right and left sides, respectively. "Green, get ready to open the door," Goodwin said as she glanced at the miner.

He nodded his head as he raised a hand to the door's manual controls, glancing up at Goodwin as he waited for her signal. "Five... four... three... two... one... open sesame," Goodwin whispered. Green pressed the open button and the door slid open, revealing the inside of the workshop.

The motion tracker was still beeping as the team scanned the room, looking at the various tables with saws and machinery on them. There were chains hanging from the ceiling of the room, dangling in the air and disconnected from their safety latches. Goodwin looked at the motion tracker and saw that the beep was holding a steady position, before looking back at the lightly swinging chain in the room.

"How did those chains get loose?" Hoffman asked rhetorically. He then stepped forward, making sure to keep the tip of his taser pointed away from Torres. The rest of the group quietly followed him inside the workshop, shining lights around the darkened room.

"Where's the light switch?" Torres asked as she bundled the net up again and walked over to the side of the door. Meanwhile, Goodwin walked forward and grabbed a swinging chain, holding it still. The beeping of the motion tracker ceased afterward.

Walking over to Goodwin's side, Green looked at the chain curiously. "I don't get it. How did these chains come loose?" he asked as he looked up at the ceiling. There were several hooks for the chains and some other objects to hang things from, along with some pipes that were connected to other rooms and levels of the station, including part of a maintenance duct that spanned through the room in a straight line before feeding into the next room over.

"If we don't put these things back up, we'll be registering them again _constantly_ ," Green said with a sigh. Hoffman set his taser down as Green placed the motion tracker on a nearby table before walking over to grab a step ladder. Goodwin watched as the two men carried the ladder over to the spot under the chains, causing a brief series of beeps to sound from the motion tracker.

Hoffman and Green stopped moving the ladder as they glanced at the tracker. The beeps stopped. They both resumed moving the ladder, with the beeps resuming until they had situated it properly. Hoffman then began to climb the ladder as he slowly grabbed one chain at a time to begin putting them back up on their hooks and rafter beams. "Go help the others," Hoffman said to Green. "I can take care of these, then I'll join you guys," he added. Green nodded his head and walked away from the ladder before helping Goodwin search the room.

Meanwhile, in one corner of the room, Torres was crouching as she glanced under a table, looking back and forth for signs of the chestburster. She remained quiet as she performed her task, but couldn't help but whisper on occasion. " _Come on out, little monster. We just wanna step on your head... and throw you out of an airlock_ ," Torres whispered as she checked under the next table.

Back at the chains, Hoffman was busy securing the next chain when he grabbed one that felt different from the others. It felt solid and... not at all like metal. Bringing the "chain" closer to inspect it, he saw that it was black in color, with small yellow spots dotting it in a symmetrical manner, with a flat underside and small bony ridges on the opposite side, with a barb at the end. "What the hell?" Hoffman asked before tugging on the 'chain', before something wet fell on his head. Reaching to touch his hair, Hoffman pulled down his other hand to see some kind of slime on it.

He then looked up, following the "chain" to see bony ridges growing slightly larger the further up it went, until it arrived at a strange object in the ceiling. The object seemed very familiar to Hoffman, for reasons he couldn't understand, as there was an elongated dome of sorts beneath the rest of the object. The object was mostly black in color, with tiny yellow dots and yellow highlights in oval-shaped depressions along parts of the object, such as four tubules above the dome, giving it a very industrial appearance.

Under the dome, Hoffman could almost make out some kind of ridged structure, and it was then that the reasons for familiarity struck him. His eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath as he realized what he was looking at. "Oh dear god," he whispered in fear as he remembered what he had seen inside the ship earlier.

Down below, Green turned his head. "Something wrong, Vince?" Green asked as he and Goodwin both checked under a nearby table for signs of the alien. "Vince?" Green asked again as he pulled himself out from under the table when he heard a muffled cry and a shuffling noise followed by the swinging sound of chains, hissing in pain when he bumped his head against the underside of the table by accident after hearing a loud banging from the air duct above before the ladder fell over and clanged on the floor loudly, causing the motion tracker to go off during the commotion. Torres and Goodwin both followed suit as they extricated themselves from under the tables.

"Ow! Vince, what happened!?" Green asked with a wince as he looked around, seeing the ladder on the floor, but no sign of Hoffman. "Vince!?" Green asked worriedly, before noticing something shiny and wet on the floor. Green cautiously walked over to the wet spot and crouched down in front of it.

"Hoffman, are you hurt!?" Goodwin asked as she looked around the room for signs of the miner. "Hoffman?" Goodwin asked worriedly. "Where is he?" Torres asked as she walked over to the others. Green looked up at the ceiling, seeing the swaying chains near the opened vent of the maintenance duct. Shortly afterward, the beeping of the motion tracker ceased, catching everyone's attention.

The trio then looked back up at the ceiling, past the swaying chains and towards the opened vent of the maintenance duct. "V-Vince?" Green asked again. There was no response, only the sound of the chains gently swaying from the ceiling. It was then that the crew of Taros Station #04 realized they were no longer dealing with a small animal. The chestburster had grown up, and the hunters were now becoming the hunted.

* * *

Author's Notes: And there's Chapter 07 of Hard Heads. Again, the Xenomorph, who I have named Yellow Bill or Yellow Stripes, is basically the same as Kane's Son from ALIEN (1979) in terms of physical appearance, aside from his coloration. Yellow Bill is black with some yellow highlights in places. Also, when I describe the dome as being beneath the other parts of Yellow Bill's body, that's because it's from Hoffman's point of view and the Xenomorph is upside down as it hugs the ceiling.

I hope that the way I described the first encounter with Yellow Bill leaves an impact. I know that having someone encounter the Xenomorph alone is a scarier scenario, but since I've already written the crew of Taros Station #04 as being moderately more intelligent than the crew of the Nostromo, I realized that this wouldn't work. Granted, I've incorporated some elements from Brett's death scene, such as swinging chains, but I wanted to make it different enough that it doesn't feel like I'm copying and pasting from the first movie.

At least I didn't have someone run off after a damn cat. What the hell was Jones doing on the Nostromo anyway? No, seriously. Why was there a cat on that ship? Who did it belong to? Judging by Ripley's behavior, I'm guessing that Jones belonged to her, since she was the only person who seemed to show any concern for the cat during the film. Sure, Brett went looking for him, but only because he was told to, not because he cared about the animal. Although that does beg the question of why Ripley didn't go after the cat if Jones belonged to her.

Anyway, for some background information, Level 03 of Taros Station #04 is larger than the above levels, as it is connected to the mining elevator, contains the locker rooms, the miner's quarters, the maintenance garage, storage for drilling equipment, and various other rooms that have a lot of space and height. It is also ground-level, with the other two levels being above it, and it has the heaviest and thickest floors of the station, since it holds the heaviest equipment.

Also, yes, the maintenance ducts are spacious, because it's the future and this story takes place in the ALIEN franchise. I can't deviate too much from established lore. I do think it's interesting to note, however, that the ducts in the Nostromo were far more claustrophobic and cramped than those seen in the rest of the franchise, as well as other monster movies made later that were heavily influenced by ALIEN. Just watch how Dallas has a look of discomfort on his face in the shaft sequence when he's first entering the ducts. He can hardly move properly in there! His only real freedom of movement happens after he reaches that section with the ladder.

One last thing. As some of you may start to notice, Garfield isn't quite as single-minded as he was earlier. He honestly does regret getting Eastman killed and he recognizes the danger posed by the Xenomorph. Now, he's still an _asshole_ , to be sure, but he isn't going to try capturing the alien alive at this point.

Also, the full name of this chapter is actually _Tom Clancy's THE HUNT FOR YELLOW CHESTBURSTER_ , in case no one got the reference.

As always, please be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or the story so far in your reviews. Again, constructive criticism is always appreciated.


	8. YELLOW BILL

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 08: YELLOW BILL**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 18th, 2137**

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

After Hoffman had been taken away, the rest of the crew quickly regrouped back in the operations center, with Marcus ordering Deputy Hansen to secure the elevators and all accessible maintenance shafts remotely before meeting them there. The man did what he could before making his way to the room, where he waited for everyone else to return. When they did, Anna Torres quickly rounded on the deputy for what had happened to Hoffman.

"You were supposed to be watching the camera feed!" Anna Torres shouted as she confronted Mick Hansen, pushing him back and causing him to fall to the floor. He quickly grabbed onto the edge of the nearest chair to help himself up while Rains and Milo rushed over to pull Torres back from the man. "The camera's don't move that way! I can't see what's on the ceiling!" Hansen retorted.

"You should've warned us!" Torres shouted back at him. "Warned you!? _Warned you!?_ How was I supposed to know that this thing was big enough to carry a man!? How the hell was I even supposed to know that it _could_ hang from the ceiling!?" Hansen snapped back at her incredulously. "You were supposed to be watching our-"

"That's _enough!_ " Burns shouted as she stepped in between them. "Calm the hell down," the pilot ordered everyone. "Now take it easy," Burns said as she glared at Torres. "But he-" "I said _shut up!_ " Burns snapped at Torres.

"Now, we need a new plan," Burns said sternly as she glanced around the room. Everyone else stood around or sat on chairs and stools, looking pensively at each other. Marcus furrowed his brows as he looked over at Goodwin.

"Did you get a good look at it?" Marcus asked Goodwin. Goodwin shook her head. "No. We didn't see what it looked like," she replied.

"You followed it into the room, right? You must've seen _something_ ," Marcus noted pointedly. "Marcus, I think we already know what it looks like," Burns said with a frown.

"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked her. Burns looked him in the eyes. "Do you remember those bodies inside the ship? The ones without eyes and the dick-shaped heads?" Burns asked him, prompting Garfield to raise an eyebrow from where he was standing. Marcus nodded his head.

"What else have we seen that didn't have any eyes?" she asked him. It was then that Marcus made the connection between the creatures in the ship and the creature that emerged from Eastman's body. "Jesus _Christ_ ," Marcus muttered under his breath as realization finally dawned on him.

"You said those things in there were huge, though, didn't you?" Garfield asked them. "Yeah, they were. Almost bigger than the giants," Burns replied.

"This thing came out of a man. Do you think it'll grow to be the same size, or will it be smaller?" Garfield asked her. Burns raised an eyebrow at the man. "How the fuck should I know? Do I look like an expert in alien biology?" Burns asked him in response.

"Sorry," Garfield muttered, rolling his eyes at Burns's response.

"So, who has a plan?" Burns asked again. Marcus adjusted his cap before walking over to the holographic display table, bringing up a schematic of the station's ground level. "You guys said it took him into that maintenance shaft, right?" Marcus asked Goodwin and Green.

"Yeah," Green replied. "There's nowhere else it could've taken him, or else we would've seen it," Green added before letting out a deep breath. "So, it's hiding in the vents. Hansen, you made sure to secure all of the maintenance shaft hatches remotely, right?" Marcus asked the deputy.

"All of the ones that weren't set for manual usage," Hansen replied. "And how many of those were there?" Marcus asked him. "I think... about twelve. They were all on the same level. Level Two and up here are all remote-linked, so they're secure. Although, not all of the manual sections are connected to each other," Hansen said.

"What? I thought they all had a party line," Torres said, confused. "If one is set to manual, then the ones after it are also disconnected from the main system, right?" she asked, having done considerable maintenance work in the past few months. Rains shook his head.

"No, these are all modular system models. They've got extra wiring for the controls so that you can have it both ways," Rains said. "Yeah, but you have to have both wires set for remote link if you want to have proper remote control over them," Milo piped up.

"Alright, Hansen, show us which sections are still manually operated," Marcus said as he gestured for Hansen to make his way over to the table. Hansen selected the sections with hatches that were still open. "The locker room, the workshop corridor, the mining elevator lobby, the shower room, a shaft that leads to a T-junction near one of the inter-level junctions, the main corridor between the lobby and the locker room, and this one long shaft that... leads to a ground-side airlock. EVA chamber, I think," Hansen said.

"When was the last time anyone used that airlock?" Burns asked. Everyone shook their heads as they struggled to remember any occasion when they or someone else had needed to use that particular airlock for any reason. "Anyone?" Burns asked again before looking at Milo. "Milo? Do you remember anyone ever using that airlock?" she asked the man. "Uh... no. I got nothin'," Milo said, shaking his head.

"Alright. So, we'll go back down, seal each hatch and open vent and just... cut off air flow to those locations. We'll let it suffocate in there," Marcus said. Garfield raised an eyebrow at Marcus's neglect of one important problem.

"Um... question," Garfield said, raising a hand. "What?" Marcus asked him. "Do we know if Mister Hoffman is still alive or not?" Garfield asked him.

Marcus raised an eyebrow of his own before glancing over at Goodwin. "Goodwin? Green? Torres? Did you guys see any blood when Vince was taken?" Marcus asked them. A thoughtful expression crossed Green's face before he shook his head. "No. No, not that I can remember," Green replied.

"Same here," Goodwin said before glancing over at Torres. "There was no blood. Just this... slime on the floor," Torres added.

"So, there's a chance that Hoffman could still be alive?" Bowman asked them. "Well... possibly," Marcus said. "Can we really go forward with this plan in the event that it might kill Hoffman?" Elliot asked.

"That's _if_ he's still alive," Brown said with a hint of doubt in his voice. "You don't think so?" Burns asked Brown. "Well... just because there's no blood doesn't mean he isn't dead. A man doesn't bleed when you break his neck, does he?" Brown responded.

"So you're just gonna toss Hoffman to the side?" Torres asked him in disbelief. "No, I didn't say that. I'm just pointing out that we don't _know_ for certain if he's alive or dead," Brown retorted.

"Okay, knock it off," Marcus growled at the bickering personnel. "Look, we'll proceed with the plan and try to find Hoffman at the same time. Whether he's dead or alive, we'll find him first, and then we'll seal this thing in the vents, trapping it. If it's still growing, it'll either get stuck or it'll try to escape to someplace with more room," Marcus said.

"Marcus, I think we should focus simply on finding Hoffman first. I agree that we must contain this thing or kill it, but I cannot in good conscience proceed with a plan that deliberately endangers another person in this manner," Elliot protested. Marcus looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Well, that's very unfortunate, Elliot. Maybe it hasn't occurred to you, but _any_ plan that we come up with at this point is going to endanger some or all of us in some way, shape, or form," Garfield said bluntly, beating Marcus to the punch. "Going back down there to trap it puts us at risk of being attacked, and just staying up here gives it a chance to roam around the station freely," Garfield added.

"Wait, those maintenance shafts; do any of them connect with the ones on the next two levels?" Bowman asked curiously. Hansen glanced down at the schematic. "Yeah, there's one by the shower room. It runs alongside a series of air ducts and water pipes that are also connected to the ones up here, but I'm pretty sure that it's locked down by remote," Hansen replied.

"And even if it weren't, all of the hatches connected on our levels are shut, so that thing wouldn't be able to enter the maintenance shafts on levels one and two anyway," Hansen added confidently.

"Alright, so we go down to level three, lock the hatches, find Hoffman, and either trap this thing in the ducts or we lure it into an airlock," Marcus said. "Any questions?" he asked as he looked around the room. Burns raised a hand.

"How do we access the manual controls for the maintenance shafts?" she asked him.

"We have to enter the shafts themselves to get to the ones that aren't exit hatches," Rains said. Burns silently nodded her head in understanding, as did Milo. "So, that means someone has to go into the shafts to seal them, right?" Torres asked nervously.

"Yeah, it does," Rains said with a sigh.

"Then we'll split up into teams again. We'll all be sealing off each hatch we come across while looking for Hoffman at the same time," Burns said. "Yeah, that sounds good," Marcus said, nodding his head in approval. "Now, do we stay in our previous teams?" Burns asked him.

Marcus looked around the room as he thought about this. "Well... we'll still need someone to stay in the security center and monitor the camera feeds," Marcus said. Hansen sucked in a breath. "I guess I'll go back to the security center," he said.

"Why don't we have someone else watching our backs this time?" Torres suggested, glaring at Hansen. "Calm down, Anna," Marcus said sternly. Torres glanced over at Marcus and frowned in response.

"Hansen will stay in the security center again," Marcus said firmly. "But this time we'll be in three teams. Red, Blue, and Yellow," he added. "Burns, you'll be in charge of Blue Team. You'll take Rains, Milo, Bowman, and Kendricks. Brown, you'll be in charge of Yellow Team. You'll take Martin, Garfield, Brooks, and Elliot," Marcus said before looking at Goodwin.

"Goodwin, you'll be with me on Red Team. Fairbank, Torres, and Green will join us," Marcus said firmly. "Goodwin, is there any chance that those rubber bullets will hurt something as big as a man, if this thing _has_ indeed grown that large by this point?" Marcus asked Goodwin.

"Rubber bullets can still be dangerous to a human. They've been known to break ribs and even give people concussions when used within a certain range. They may be rubber, but they're still solid objects traveling at a high velocity," Goodwin replied. Marcus nodded his head in understanding. He then pulled up the visual imagery collected from the probes in order to show everyone the fossilized creatures that had been seen inside the ship.

"Okay, now this... _phallic_ -headed thing here is most likely what our unwanted guest looks like by now," Marcus said as he showed everyone the holographic imagery from the display table, gesturing for everyone to move in closer to the table. "Get a good look at it. It may not be the same size as the ones in the ship, but I don't want any of you to stand still in shock when you finally see this thing in person. Remember, it was able to grab Hoffman and carry him into an open maintenance duct within seconds without making any noise, apart from that ladder being knocked over," Marcus added.

A solid five minutes passed before Marcus finally shut off the holographic imagery before pulling the lower level schematics back up. "Alright, now we now that this thing is moving around in the maintenance shafts, and since we have two levels locked, it can only maneuver on that one level," Marcus said. "So, with three teams, we'll all take three elevators, and I want those elevators locked remotely again after we exit them," Marcus added as he looked at Hansen.

"Are you sure?" Hansen asked Marcus. Marcus nodded his head. "I'm positive. I don't want this thing getting into the elevators and hitching a ride above us. We have it trapped on one level. Let's keep it that way," Marcus responded. "Now, Blue Team will start searching the maintenance shafts in Section D. Yellow Team will search Section C. And Red Team will search Section B. After we've sealed those hatches, we'll all search sections A and E together," Marcus said as he pointed to each location of the map of the station.

"We'll stay with our current equipment, but I want the motion trackers adjusted for the change in group size and spread," Marcus said. "And Burns? Take your damn hat and jacket off before going inside the maintenance ducts. It'll be easier for you to move around," Marcus said pointedly as he looked at the woman. Burns nodded her head in affirmation.

"Alright, let's get started," Marcus said.

* * *

 **BLUE TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-D, ONE HOUR LATER...**

"This is Burns. We've reached the first open maintenance shaft," Burns said over her headset as she set her shotgun against the wall. " _Understood. Proceed with caution and keep the motion tracker within a reasonable distance of yourself,_ " Hansen said over the headset. "Understood. Burns out," Burns replied.

The pilot quickly removed her bomber jacket and cowboy hat before setting them down on the floor. She then grabbed her shotgun and crawled up into the maintenance shaft. "Okay, you guys keep an eye on that tracker for me," she said as she turned on the flashlight strapped to the gun and aimed it down the shaft.

"Wait a minute," Bowman said, catching Burns' attention as she turned around to look at him. "What?" she asked him. "You're gonna go in there _by yourself!?_ " Bowman asked her incredulously. Burns merely shrugged in response. "Mm-hm. Yeah," Burns replied simply.

Bowman shook his head in dismay. "Burns, you're gonna need the motion tracker if that thing is crawling around inside there with you," Bowman said. "I'll be closing each hatch behind me as I go. That thing won't be able to sneak up on me," she responded.

"Bullshit," Bowman spat. "You go in there by yourself or without a motion tracker, you may not come back out at all," he added with concern. Burns merely raised an eyebrow at him in response, somewhat puzzled by his apparent bravado... or stupidity. Either one was possible.

With a huff, Bowman quickly stepped over to the hatch and began climbing inside behind Burns. "Bowman, what the hell are you doing?" Burns asked him in surprise at his actions. "If you're gonna go in here without a motion tracker, then you at least aren't going in here _alone_ ," he replied forcefully, glaring at Burns with determination. Burns rolled her eyes at him before glancing over at Milo, who held the motion tracker in his hands. "Milo, give Bowman the damn tracker. At least he'll be _useful_ that way. The rest of you just stay out here and watch for anything unusual," Burns said begrudgingly.

Milo quickly walked over and handed the motion tracker to Bowman, who took it with a nod before following Burns into the shaft. The three men standing outside watched the duo slowly disappear into the darkness. " _Oh, Rains? Close that shaft behind us. I don't want that thing getting around us if it's in here,_ " Burns called out after a couple minutes.

Rains nodded his head and walked over to the control panel next to the opening and hit the CLOSE button. The hatch quickly slid into place with a green light holding steady above it. Rains sighed and retrieved his taser from the floor before sitting down on the floor. "Time to play the waiting game," he muttered before he took a candy bar out of his pocket.

 **YELLOW TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-C**

Sergeant Brown held his shotgun steady as he slowly crept under the spot where Hoffman had been abducted, aiming the weapon up at the open vent. Meanwhile, Martin and Garfield quickly began moving a ladder over underneath the open vent. "Okay, the controls for that hatch are right there on the other side. See them?" Martin asked as he pointed to a small panel on the side of the shaft, above the vent.

"Just climb the ladder, close the hatch and switch the controls to remote. Then we'll move on," Martin said as he held the ladder steady for Garfield, who slowly began climbing up. Garfield gulped as he got closer to the open hatch. He glanced over at the hanging chains across the ceiling, before looking back at the open hatch. There were visible hand grips inside of it, along with handles on the outside for safety. There was also a ladder secured by some latches on the bottom of the shaft just a few centimeters away from the hatch.

Holding a flashlight in his right hand, Garfield slowly shone it up into the darkness, holding his breath as he watched for signs of the Xenomorph. "What are you waiting for?" Brooks asked him as he watched from below. Garfield slowly began reaching out to the control panel, pressing the CLOSE button quickly before seeing the hatch slide shut with a green light. He then looked at the other buttons on the panel and hit the REMOTE button before quickly climbing down the ladder.

"Geez, you're sweating buckets," Brown noted as Garfield stepped away from the ladder. "L-Let's... move on," Garfield stuttered nervously, eager to finish the hunt for the Xenomorph and blast it out of an airlock. Brooks and Brown both nodded their heads in agreement, while Elliot simply kept his focus on the motion tracker in his hands. Martin simply moved the ladder and folded it before leaning it against the wall. The group quickly exited the workshop and made their way to their next destination.

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-B**

Green looked down at the motion tracker as Red Team turned the corner of the hallway. Next to the corner was a maintenance alcove, which had an open maintenance hatch above it with a ladder to allow personnel to climb into the shaft. Goodwin shone her flashlight up the shaft with her shotgun before she saw the next hatch further up, sealed and locked with small red lights around it. She stepped back and hit the CLOSE button on the control panel next to the ladder, causing the hatch to slide closed with green lights. She then hit the REMOTE button to switch operation methods.

"Hansen, we've secured our first hatch. We're moving on to the ones near the mining lobby and the locker room," Goodwin said over the headset. " _Understood. I'm locking the hatch remotely,_ " Hansen said over the headset. The green lights around the hatch were now red.

 **BLUE TEAM, INSIDE THE MAINTENANCE SHAFT, SECTION 03-D...**

Burns kept her shotgun facing forward as she and Bowman approached a T-junction in the shaft. Taking a left turn would take them to the next hatch in the shaft. "Hansen, this is Burns. We are now approaching Hatch D-Zero-Zero-Six, near a T-junction in the duct," Burns said as she continued to crouch-walk through the shaft.

" _Have you closed the hatches behind you so far?_ " Hansen asked her. "Affirmative," Burns replied. "They've been switched to the remote-link. You can lock them now," she said.

" _Understood. Hansen out,_ " Hansen replied. Burns tapped her headset before hearing a faint beep from the motion tracker behind her. She stopped moving, as did Bowman.

"You heard that too, right?" Bowman asked her. Burns nodded her head in affirmation before another faint beep emanated from the device. "Did you bring a weapon with you?" Burns asked Bowman quietly. "N-No. But, wait... what if it's Hoffman?" Bowman responded.

Burns tightened her grip on the underside of the Mossberg's barrel. "What if it _isn't?_ " she asked Bowman with a frown. Bowman looked at her worriedly and gulped in response.

Maneuvering herself so that her back was flush against the shaft wall, she kept her gun pointed forward down the shaft, the light illuminating the wall that formed the T-junction up ahead as she glanced back at Bowman, who was nervously glancing down at the screen of the motion tracker as it beeped again. "Wait, was that me positioning myself? Was it a false reading?" Burns asked him with a slight hint of nervousness in her voice. Bowman opened his mouth to respond when the device produced another beep, this time louder than the previous beeps, as the signal grew in strength and proximity to their location.

Burns' eyes widened as she glanced down at the tracker. " _What direction? How far away?_ " she asked Bowman quietly. The device beeped again... and again... and again.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

" _F-Five meters ahead of us_ ," Bowman whispered to her in response, gulping nervously. The next hatch was less than five meters away from them, just a little bit beyond the T-junction they had been approaching. " _Moving_ [BEEP] _towards the junction, towards..._ _ **us**_ ," Bowman said quietly, fear evident in his voice. Burns glanced back up ahead and steadied her shotgun, turning the safety off. She quietly removed some ear plugs from her pants pockets and put them in, before offering another pair to Bowman.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

" _Take them_ ," she whispered tersely. Bowman obeyed the command and put the ear plugs in, before glancing back down at the motion tracker, nervously glancing over Burns' shoulder with each beep of the device before glancing back down anxiously as he watched the small white dot move closer with each pulse.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Burns narrowed her eyes, squinting them, and moved her pointer finger from the trigger guard to the trigger itself, hovering just centimeters away.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Bowman felt beads of sweat beginning to rivulet down his face as he tried holding his breath in anticipation.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Burns steadied her breathing, trying to make as little noise as possible as the beeps continued, keeping the butt of the shotgun held steady against her shoulder.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Faint movement could be heard up ahead in the darkness of the maintenance shaft. Dull little pangs, dings, and faint scratching sounds echoed ever so softly through the maintenance shaft as something moved around up ahead of them, remaining just out of sight. Burns kept the flashlight turned on as she focused her attention on the T-junction up ahead of them

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Bowman felt his heart rate begin to pick up. With each beep, he could feel his heart pounding faster and faster inside his chest. It was getting more difficult to control his breathing as he watched the small white dot blink in and out of existence in rapid succession with every beep produced by the device in his hands.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Burns felt beads of sweat begin to move down her brow, forcing her to blink to keep them out of her eyes as she felt fear, anxiety, anticipation, and adrenaline flowing through her with every beep produced by the motion tracker.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP...

The signal was moving away from them. Bowman glanced down at the device and looked back up as the signal slowly faded. When the signal was gone, Bowman let out a breath that he'd been holding, smiling nervously in relief.

" _It... turned around,_ " Bowman whispered in relief. Burns blinked in confusion at his words. "It turned around? Why?" she asked him as she glanced back at him briefly before returning her attention to the T-junction. Bowman looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"I-I don't know," Bowman replied. Burns slowly nodded her head and began crouch-walking forward again, stopping every few feet so that she and Bowman could listen for signals from the motion tracker. The two humans would wait a minute before moving forward again, taking their time as they approached the corner of the T-junction.

Turning to look down the right-side path, Burns saw some red lights in the distance, indicating a sealed hatch. Looking back over to the left, in the direction of the unsecured hatch, Burns aimed her flashlight forward as saw tiny green lights. As the duo moved closer, they soon realized why the alien had turned around.

"The hatch is already closed," Burns whispered as she and Bowman arrived at their destination.

"But wasn't it set on manual?" Bowman asked her. Burns nodded her head. "Yeah, it was. It just happened to still be closed," she said before hitting the REMOTE button on the panel next to the hatch.

"Was that the final one in our area?" Bowman asked her. Turning around, Burns turned the safety on her shotgun back on and nodded at Bowman. "Yeah. The rest of this path leads to a junction for the upper levels, according to the schematics," she replied.

"Okay. We don't... uh, need to secure those either?" Bowman asked her. Burns shook her head. "Nope. All of those are already secured remotely, according to Hansen. Now, let's get out of here," she said in response. Bowman eagerly nodded his head and turned around to lead the way out.

"Hansen, this is Burns. We've just switched the final hatch in our section to remote usage. We'll be unlocking a few more hatches and resetting them behind us as we leave. And Hansen? The thing is definitely in here with us, so make damn sure to lock those hatches remotely after we hit each one. Over," Burns said into the headset.

" _Understood, Burns. I'll be waiting. Hansen out,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. Burns tapped her headset and then motioned for Bowman to keep moving as she followed him.

 **YELLOW TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-C**

"Hoffman?" Martin asked quietly as Yellow Team entered a supply room. The team looked around at the various mops and cleaning products lining the shelves of the room, and the various hand tools and layout maps of the station adorning the walls. "I don't think he's in here," Garfield said as he looked around and saw a few pinup posters with various naked women adorning them.

"I think I have this one at home," Garfield mumbled to himself as he admired the pinup, paying special attention to the woman's spread legs and what was between them. "All natural and over twenty-one," Brooks said as he walked up behind Garfield, startling the man. "This pinup is over thirty years old. She's probably in her sixties by now," Brooks then added, noticing that the fine print at the bottom of the picture noted that the model had been 32 years old when the picture was taken.

Garfield nodded his head in agreement, before Elliot looked over at the two men and coughed to get their attention. "Gentlemen, that is not Hoffman, nor is it our otherworldly intruder," Elliot said admonishingly. "No, but she's definitely out of this world," Brooks replied with a cheeky grin as he jerked a thumb at the naked woman's unshaven privates.

"Hoffman's not in this room. Let's move on to the next one," Brown said, glancing over at the pinup and letting his gaze linger on it for a few seconds before walking towards the door. "You can come back and get the poster after we've found Hoffman or gotten rid of that... thing," Brown said as he led the other men out of the room.

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-A...**

Entering the corridor between the locker rooms and the mining elevator lobby, Red Team cautiously paused. "This is Red Team. We are entering Section Three-A. All other teams prepare to join us," Marcus said over his headset.

" _This is Blue Team. Burns and Bowman just rejoined us. We're still searching our section for signs of Hoffman in the rooms around us. Give us about thirty minutes to join up,_ " Rains said over the headset.

"Understood," Marcus said. "Come in, Yellow Team. What's your status?" Marcus then asked over the headset.

" _This is Yellow Team. We're just finishing up in our section. We'll be heading over to join you guys in a few minutes. Brown out,_ " Brown said over the headset. Marcus nodded his head before tapping on his headset. "Alright. We'll be waiting near the lobby for the mining elevator. See you guys then. Marcus out," Marcus said over the headset.

"Why not wait right here?" Green asked Marcus, just before the motion tracker let out a beep. The group looked down at the device in Green's hands. The motion tracker became silent again. "Was it a false alarm?" Torres asked.

The motion tracker beeped again, and a small white dot blinked on and off as it moved across the small screen on the device. "Which way is it heading?" Marcus asked. "It's moving towards the lobby," Green said as he glanced over at the locked door at the end of the corridor that separated them from the lobby for the elevator.

Marcus glanced down at the long-arm taser in his hands before glancing at Goodwin. "Let's do it," Marcus said. Goodwin nodded with a grin before she and Marcus began marching over to the door, forcing Green and the others to keep up. "Wait, we should wait for the others to meet up with us," Green said.

"If we move now, we can get the mining elevator ready before it arrives. It hasn't gotten to that area yet, has it?" Marcus asked in response. Green looked down at the motion tracker and judged the distance between themselves and the lobby. "No, not yet," Green replied as the tracker continued to beep, before the beeping became more spaced out.

"Wait, I think it's slowing down," Green said as he stopped moving. The motion tracker beeped twice more, each beep spaced apart, before it became silent. The group waited a full sixty seconds for another signal to appear, before opening the door to the mining lobby. The tracker beeped briefly as the door slid open and the group entered the lobby.

Pressure suits were hung on racks on one side of the wall, with air supplies built in further down towards the elevator itself. There were equipment-carrying tray carts parked next to the wall near a medical kiosk, along with a heavy-duty communication system unit built into the wall just above one of the carts. There were safety cables and ropes bundled up on one side of the wall, along with air tanks and various gloves and boots inside open locker doors.

The elevator door was locked, as evidenced by the small red lights above it and the left and right sides, next to the access panel were several key card slots and a small keyboard with a tiny screen were situated. Marcus glanced back over at Green and looked down at the motion tracker, which simply produced a faint electronic hum as it pulsed faintly. There was still no sign that the alien had entered the room yet.

"Hansen, this is Red Team. We have entered the mining elevator lobby. We are going to open the doors to the mining elevator and prepare it for the trap. Keep your eyes on the camera feeds near this area and let us know if you see anything. Marcus out," Marcus said into his headset.

" _Understood, Marcus. I just wanna do a quick scan of the other cameras on that level to check on the other teams before focusing on you guys. Hansen out,_ " Hansen replied. Marcus nodded his head in understanding before turning to face Goodwin. "Hansen's gonna-" "I heard him, Fred. I'll keep an eye out. Green, keep your eyes on that tracker," Goodwin said, cutting Marcus off.

"If I keep looking at this thing, I'm gonna need glasses by the time this is over," Green joked darkly in response.

Marcus quickly ordered Fairbank and Torres to help him set up the elevator controls as they opened the doors. The sliding of the large thick doors caused the motion tracker to go off, forcing Green to look up at the elevator as the beeps continued. Only after the doors were fully open did the beeps stop.

Green slowly walked over to the open doorway into the corridor that led to the locker rooms, checking to see if Yellow Team were on their way. The motion tracker produced a beep as he got closer to the doorway. He glanced back over at the other people in the room and reminded himself of the distance he could go. He tentatively glanced down the corridor again before returning to the center of the lobby, glancing over at Goodwin, who was also looking around the room cautiously.

* * *

 **THE SECURITY CENTER...**

Hansen looked at the camera feed as Blue Team exited another room, before glancing over to footage of Yellow Team slowly making their way towars Section 03-A. Hansen glanced over at a large monitor and looked at the schematic of Level 03, which had several camera locations marked along with the various rooms and sections. He returned his attention to the camera feed for Section 03-A, checking the intersection between the locker room corridor and the showers.

As the camera panned over the hall, Hansen noticed that one of the maintenance hatches was opened. "Red Team, this is Hansen. Please pick up," Hansen said. " _This is Goodwin. What's up?_ " Goodwin asked over the headset.

"Goodwin, I think you guys missed a maintenance hatch on your way to the lobby," Hansen said, hoping that that was the case. " _How far back?_ " Goodwin asked him over the headset. Hansen looked at the feed notation.

"It's in Section Three-A, near the corridor intersection with Section Three-B and Three-C," Hansen said. " _I guess we overlooked that one. What areas does that shaft connect with?_ " Goodwin replied.

Hansen looked over at the schematic for the level. "Uh... it connects with the level's main shaft, which leads to the inter-level maintenance junction," Hansen said over the headset. " _You locked that down properly, didn't you?_ " Goodwin asked him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I activated the remote-controlled deadbolts on the middle three hatches. The only way it can possibly get up to another level is if it rides an elevator, and I locked those down as soon as you guys departed them," Hansen replied. " _Okay, as soon as Marcus and the others finish setting up the trap, we'll check out the maintenance hatch. Or you could inform Yellow Team about it and let them check it out,_ " Goodwin said.

"Understood. Hansen out," Hansen responded into the headset. Seconds before he glanced back over at the screens, one camera showed a large skeletal creature moving swiftly through a corridor. By the time Hansen had returned his focus to the screens, it was already gone from the camera's field of view.

* * *

 **RED TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-A...**

"There we go," Marcus said as he finished setting up the operation scheme for the elevator doors. "Hansen, this is Marcus. The doors for the mining elevator have been set for remote operation. Now, what was it you wanted us to check out again?" Marcus asked Hansen over the headset.

" _You guys overlooked a maintenance hatch near the intersection between Section Three-A, Three-B, and Three-C earlier. It's still open,_ " Hansen replied. Marcus raised an eyebrow. He was certain that the hatch had been closed when Red Team was making their way through that area earlier.

"Right. Thanks for the heads-up," Marcus said. "We'll head over there right now. Marcus out," Marcus said into the headset. "Alright, let's get moving," he then said as he made his way over to the doorway that led to the corridor between the lobby and the locker rooms.

As the group approached the doorway, the motion tracker beeped. Everyone stopped in their tracks. "Yellow Team?" Torres asked as she looked down at the device. The tracker beeped again, showing a single white dot blinking as it moved closer to their position.

"I don't think so," Green said as the device continued beeping. Red Team quickly began to spread themselves out around the doorway as the signal grew closer. Fairbank stood behind Marcus while Torres and Green stood near Goodwin.

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...

"It's getting closer," Green said nervously.

"Y-Yellow Team?" Fairbank called out, prompting the others to shush him. " _What the hell?_ " Marcus asked him in admonishment. "W-Well, it could be them," Fairbank said.

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...

The signal grew closer to the doorway.

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

The signal had stopped just at the T-junction of the hallway. A scraping sound could be heard, along with a faint hiss of some kind, and various huffing. The signal started up again, but stayed in place.

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

Goodwin licked her lips and took the safety off of her shotgun. She then glanced over at Torres, who was still holding a capture net. " _Okay,_ " Goodwin whispered, " _I'm going to make some noise to attract it in here. Torres, stand to the side and ready that net. Green... um, just stand there with the tracker_."

Goodwin then looked over at Marcus and Fairbank. " _Marcus, keep your taser ready. When it comes through the doorway, Torres will throw the net onto it and then you'll hit it with the taser. I'll shoot it to knock it out. Then, we'll drag it over to the airlock, throw it in, and we can lock it up,_ " Goodwin whispered across the open doorway.

Marcus nodded his head. " _Fairbank, go stand by the elevator and wait for the signal,_ " Marcus whispered to the man. Fairbank nodded his head and slowly made his way over to the elevator, constantly glancing back at the doorway.

BEEP... ... Beep... ... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

The signal began to move again, this time coming closer to the doorway. Marcus glanced around the open doorway and saw a foot of some kind step into view, before he hid himself against the wall. He motioned for the others to pull themselves farther back from the doorway as the motion tracker grew louder.

Green then looked down at the device. " _S-Shit. How do I turn down the volume?_ " he asked nervously as the signal drew closer to the doorway. Goodwin reached into the right breast pocket of her uniform and pulled out three pairs of ear plugs. She gave one to Green and Torres each, before she gently laid her shot gun down and put her own in, before motioning to Marcus to pull out his own ear plugs from his pants pockets. She then grabbed her shotgun and steadied it as the beeps of the motion tracker continued.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

The faint tapping of feet on the floor soon accompanied the beeps of the tracker, and Goodwin crouched down so that Torres, still standing, would be able to throw the net properly. " _Come on, show yourself,_ " Goodwin whispered eagerly as she steadied the shotgun, lining up her sights at the doorway, aiming just above Marcus's head as he crouched down, holding his long-arm taser at the ready.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

A huffing noise could be heard as the creature moved closer to the doorway, before the beeping stopped. Its breathing could still be heard, but no one dared to move. A sniffing sound could be heard before the motion tracker beeped again.

And then Fairbank turned around to look back.

The man hadn't quite reached the elevator yet, but he was at enough of a distance that he could see the creature in the doorway... and it could see him, as it was aiming its eyeless domed head straight at him. Fairbank stood still, watching as the hunched-over biomechanical nightmare slightly tilted its head, as if pondering whether or not to enter the room and go after the man.

Fairbank gulped nervously as the creature took a step forward, causing the motion tracker to beep again. It then took another step, entering the room slowly, facing Fairbank, and only Fairbank as it curled its lips and smiled at him with sharp metallic teeth, causing the man to gulp and sweat in fear.

The creature dragged its tail on the floor behind it as it stepped forward slowly methodically, almost as though it were savoring the fear that Fairbank was exhibiting as it approached him, soon standing up to its full height of 7 feet.

Marcus looked at the creature with wide eyes as it slowly passed him, noting how it was almost identical to the fossilized remains from the ship. Only it was black in color, with yellow highlights and small speckles here and there. Above, between, and under the four dorsal tubes on its back were visible yellow horizontal stripes, with the underside of its dorsal spine being yellow and the top being black.

The underside of the creature's otherwise wholly black tail was also covered in yellow horizontal stripes.

Small oval-shaped ribbed areas on the creatures black arms, legs, and dorsal tubes were also yellow, while the dome on its head was slightly translucent, but otherwise an opaque white color depending on how the lights hit it.

 _It looks like a giant bee,_ Marcus thought to himself as he noticed the black and yellow coloration of the creature.

" _Yellow Bill_ ," Marcus whispered out loud to himself, not sure just where the name had come from, but at the same time not questioning himself either. Yellow Bill, or Bill Junior, as the creature could also easily be named, stopped moving. It evened out its breathing before slowly beginning to sway its tail.

Goodwin glanced back over her shoulders at Torres, who was standing still in shock at the full view of the creature. " _Anna. Throw the net. Throw the net!_ " Goodwin whispered excitedly at the other woman.

Yellow Bill then began to turn around, causing the motion tracker to go off again. Green gulped and looked up at the alien in fear. "Oh shit," he muttered fearfully.

Yellow Bill then stepped forward, letting out a breath of anticipation. "Anna, throw the fucking net!" Marcus shouted at Torres. Torres then snapped out of her stupor and threw the net at Yellow Bill, who raised its hands as the net landed on its front.

Yellow Bill grabbed the net and began shaking it off of itself, before Marcus jabbed at it with the taser, sending a jolt of electricity through it. Yellow Bill let out a hiss of anger and quickly turned around to throw the net at Marcus before rushing him and pushing him to the ground, letting out a shriek and backing away when he managed to jab at it again with the taser. Yellow Bill quickly grabbed the shaft of the taser and wrenched it out of Marcus's hands before throwing it to the floor.

Yellow Bill grabbed Marcus and rolled him over to get more of the net covering him. It then grabbed Marcus by his net-covered legs and threw him against the wall. Marcus let out a cry of pain as his shoulder was slammed against the wall before he fell back to the floor.

"Marcus!" Goodwin shouted as she opened fire with her shotgun, sending a rubber bullet at the back of the creature's elongated head. Yellow Bill let out a startled cry of pain and anger before turning around with a hiss. "Come on!" Goodwin shouted at the creature.

Yellow Bill let out a hiss before crouching down onto all fours and rushing Goodwin, plowing into her and knocking her onto the floor. Standing against the wall, Green let out a cry of surprise and fear as the creature looked up at him with a shiny smile before slowly standing up to intimidate him. "Oh god," Green whimpered as the creature tilted its head to make the smile more menacing.

And then Goodwin managed to angle her shotgun and fire at Yellow Bill's underside, causing it to shriek in pain before reaching down and grabbed the gun, yanking it from Goodwin's hands and tossing it away. Yellow Bill then grabbed Goodwin by her uniform and pulled her up before rushing forward and slamming her back against the wall. Green quickly bolted to the side and crawled away, dropping the motion tracker as he passed the creature's tail.

Torres quickly ran around him and through the doorway, barreling through the corridor. Green soon stopped himself from following her and stood up before turning around to see Goodwin struggling against the alien. "Goodwin!" Green called out as he stood in the doorway.

"Get out of here! Seal the room!" Goodwin called out to him as Yellow Bill slowly opened its mouth. "But-" " _ **DO IT!**_ " Goodwin yelled forcefully. Green reluctantly nodded his head and closed the door before locking it from the other side.

"Marcus, grab a suit and get in the elevator! Get out of here!" Goodwin cried out before Yellow Bill lifted a hand to grab her by the throat, slightly choking her as he let go with his other hand. Her eyes soon widened as she saw the inside of Yellow Bill's mouth. There was a small pharyngeal jaw inside, opening and closing, with saliva dripping from it.

Goodwin grabbed Yellow Bill's right arm with both hands as she struggled against it. "No! No! Marcus! Come back! Help!" Goodwin cried out as fear overwhelmed her. Marcus was still struggling to get the net off as Goodwin panicked.

The inner jaws opened and closed twice more as the alien hissed and inhaled with a gurgling sound. The inner jaws then lunged forward, slamming into Goodwin's forehead and entering her brain, taking a chunk out as it quickly withdrew back into Yellow Bill's mouth. Goodwin let out a scream of intense pain before all motor functions ceased and she became limp in the monster's grasp.

Yellow Bill then dropped the woman's corpse to the floor and turned around. Blood dripped from its mouth as it smiled at Marcus, who was only now getting the net off of himself. It then turned its attention to Fairbank, who had been standing in shock the entire time.

Yellow Bill let out a hiss and Fairbank finally moved. The man darted into the elevator in panic and activated the emergency controls to close the doors as Yellow Bill slowly stalked towards him, smiling a horrible toothy grin at the man. "Close! Close! Come on! Close, you fuck!" Fairbank cried out fearfully as Yellow Bill slowly approached the elevator.

The doors soon closed, and a yellow light illuminated the room, before Fairbank heard a dreadful mechanical noise. "Oh no. Oh no!" he cried out as he realized that the elevator was automatically beginning to descend into the mine. "No! No!" he cried out as he searched for a pressure suit.

The elevator continued its descent, lights blinking with each level passed, before its doors finally opened inside the mine. Fairbank held his breath, before his lungs began to burn as he ran over to the nearest air shack. He desperately clawed at the door's control panel in an attempt to open it, his lungs suffocating painfully. He soon could no longer concentrate, and then he opened his mouth. For the next five minutes, Fairbank suffered agonizing pain before dying from asphyxiation in the mine, just a foot away from the salvation of the air shed's interior.

Meanwhile, back inside the lobby, Yellow Bill stalked over to Marcus and stood over him. It knelt down beside him and showed him its teeth. Marcus let out a gasp of fear as the alien reached forward and began pulling the net back up over him, while the motion tracker continued to beep in the background.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... ...

BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ...

BEEP... ... ... ... ... ... ...

And then the room was silent.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter eight. If you haven't noticed, Yellow Bill is a much more devious bastard than the alien from ALIEN. And, yes, the maintenance shaft sequence will be the last almost-direct lift from the first move for the rest of the story, although an unused sequence not featured in the original film will be used as a basis for one sequence in another chapter up ahead, but since part of that unused sequence wasn't even filmed, I can't be accused to lifting too much, can I?

Also, while reading the maintenance shaft sequence, please listen to Jerry Goldsmith's original music track, The Shaft, from the intended score for the 1979 film. Then, during the part where Yellow Bill attacks Red Team, listen to The Droid and Parker's Death from the soundtrack as well. Or you could listen to some of the more action-oriented arrangements of Goldsmith cues heard in the soundtrack for ALIENS: Colonial Marines.

Honestly, I kind of like the game (after the update patches were released anyway), and I love the music score. Like most of the ALIEN sequels, the music is probably the best aspect of the whole production, just like Goldenthal's score for ALIEN 3, Frizzell's score for Resurrection, and... well, it's a really good score. Some of the action cues heard in the score are indeed new arrangements of tracks composed by Jerry Goldsmith for the first ALIEN film. I'm totally serious about that, and it's amazing.

In the next two chapters, you'll see even more of Yellow Bill's distinct "personality," especially in chapter ten.

Anyway, as always, feel free to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews, and don't hold back with your criticisms.

Oh, I also made something up for you, the readers, for fun.

* * *

 **THE BALLAD OF YELLOW BILL**

 _Oh, Yellow Bill!_

 _Yellow Bill! Yellow Bill!  
_

 _He was born... in outer space!_

 _Oh, he's got... an ugly face!_

 _He's a bastard, Yellow Bill!_

 _Kills for fun, scares for kicks!_

 _He's an asshole, that's for sure!_

 _Yellow Bill, Yellow Bill!_

 _Hide your jewelry! Hide Your face!_

 _Yellow Bill's a comin'... to tear up the place!_

 _Yellow Bill, Yellow Bill!_

 _The hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne!_

 _Wait, that part don't sound right!_

 _Uh... oh wait, here's what's right!_

 _Yellow Bill, Yellow Bill!_

 _He a dirty bastard! Just one of the worst!_

 _He'll crack your ribs, just for fun!_

 _He'll even grab and break your gun!_

 _Yellow Bill, Yellow Bill!_

 _He's the meanest, cruelest, most dastardly Xenomorph that you've ever seen!_

 _Yellow Bill! Yellow Bill!_

 _Yel~low Biiillllll!_


	9. CHANGE OF PLANS

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

UPDATED on 05/10/2107: Fixed some spelling and grammar mistakes. I also restructured a few sentences so that they would flow better.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 09: NEW PLANS**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 18th, 2137**

 **BRANDY-IRON MINING FACILITY TAROS STATION #04, MOON OF TAROS**

Leaning against the wall, Jeff Green took several breaths to calm himself as he glanced back over at the locked door to the mining elevator lobby. He glanced down at the motion tracker, only to remember that he had dropped it back in the lobby. Taking out the ear plugs that Goodwin had given him earlier, Green stuffed them his left pants pocket.

Soon, he heard the sound of footsteps heading his way. Glancing over toward the far end of the corridor, Green saw Yellow Team arrive, along with Blue Team behind them. Torres was nowhere to be seen, however.

"Green!" Burns called out as she raced ahead of the others. Running over to Green's side, Burns looked him over. "Green? What happened? Talk to me," Burns requested. Green looked at her and simply shook his head.

"I... I... it's in the lobby," he said. "It? The creature? You saw it?" Burns asked him, for clarification. Green nodded his head.

"Where are the others?" Burns asked him. "Torres ran off to... I don't know where," Green said, before looking back at the door. "The others are still... I haven't heard anything for a while now," he said fretfully.

Burns glanced at the door and aimed her shotgun forward. "Bowman, get over here with that tracker," she said sternly as the rest of the group moved forward. "Brown and Kendricks, cover me," she said as she made her way over to the door.

"Elliot, take care of Green," Burns said as an afterthought. Elliot nodded his head and slowly made his way over the man, gently setting down his motion tracker on the floor. "I'm not injured," Green protested.

Back at the door, Kendricks and Brown had positioned themselves on both sides of the door as Burns accessed the control panel. She quickly put her ear plugs back in. "Everyone else stand back," Burns said as she looked over her shoulder at the others. Bowman began to step back as well. "Except you, Bowman. Put your ear plugs back in," she said to him.

Bowman frowned at her before setting the motion tracker down and putting his ear plugs in before picking up the device and standing by Brown's side. Burns glanced between the two security officers before unlocking the door. She quickly stood back, aiming her shotgun forward and turning the safety off, as the door slid open to reveal an empty lobby.

Burns glanced down at the floor for signs of shadows before tentatively stepping forward, one foot at a time. Eventually, she managed to clear the doorway and enter the lobby, motioning for the others to join her. Looking over at the wall near the door controls, Burns saw blood on the ground, along with a shotgun and some rubber bullets, before tracing the blood to a stain that ran up the wall and into a maintenance hatch up above. There was a ladder built into the wall leading up to the hatch, which was closed but had a green light on it.

The rest of the crew soon entered the lobby, looking around for signs of the creature and the three missing persons. "Burns, any signs of... oh," Rains said as he saw the blood stains on the wall. Burns glanced over her shoulder at Green before taking her ear plugs out and putting them away.

"Green, how did the alien enter the room?" Burns asked the miner. "Through the doorway," Green replied. "Which one?" Burns asked, glancing over at the closed door that was on the other side of the room near the elevator.

"The one we just entered," he clarified. Burns looked him in the eyes before looking around the room again, checking for any signs of Fairbank, Marcus, or Goodwin. "Green? Why did you leave the others behind?" she asked him curiously.

"Goodwin told me to seal the room. She... must've had a plan or something. I-I don't know. I just did what I was told," Green replied defensively, angry at himself for leaving Goodwin and the others while also internally trying to justify his decision to himself. "I... I was scared," he finally admitted. "You should've seen that thing. It... it was just like the things in the ship. Looked just like 'em," Green added.

"The dick-heads?" Burns asked him. Green blinked at her in surprise and slight confusion before nodding his head. "Okay then, where was Goodwin when you left?" Burns asked Green. Green pointed at the wall where the blood was located. When he saw the blood, he gasped and closed his eyes before looking away.

"Then she's probably dead," Burns said flatly. "What about Marcus and Fairbank? Where were they at?" Burns asked Green. When he didn't respond, Burns turned around and marched over to him. "Green! Where were Marcus and Fairbank?" she asked him forcefully.

"Marcus was over there," Green said as he pointed to the right side of the doorway, where the long-arm taser was lying. "And Fairbank was next to the elevator. We... we were gonna trap it in the elevator," Green explained.

"Were the elevator doors open when the creature attacked?" Garfield asked as he walked over and looked at the closed doors. "Yeah. Yeah, they were..." Green trailed off as he saw that the doors were now closed. "So, that's where Fairbank is hiding," Garfield said simply.

Green rushed over to the elevator, with Burns and Garfield rushing after him. "Green! Wait a minute!" Burns called out as she caught up with him. "Please, no!" Green pleaded as he saw the level indicator on the elevator showing that the car had descended to the lowest level of the mine. "Marcus set it up to automatically descend to that level once the doors were closed," Green said.

"Fairbank..." Burns said as she realized what had transpired. "Did he have a pressure suit on?" she asked Green. "Not that I can remember. He wouldn't have had the time," Green replied, remembering how Fairbank had been frozen in place when the alien revealed itself.

Burns began to take off her hat and jacket before walking over to the rack of pressure suits on the wall. "Burns, what are you doing?" Garfield asked her. "I'm gonna go into the mine and check for Fairbank. You're coming with me," she replied.

Garfield glanced between the elevator doors and the woman before shaking his head and marching over to join her at the suit rack. "Green, recall that elevator up here. _Now_ ," Burns said. "Wait, I'm going with you," Elliot said as he made his way over to the rack.

"Elliot, you should stay here with the others," Burns said. "Burns, _I_ am the second-in-command of this station. Either I join you, or I order you to stay here while I go instead. I don't want to pull rank, but if I have to, then I will," Elliot said firmly.

Burns glared at the droid for a few seconds before finally letting out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. But if that thing is down there with us, don't complain when I use the corporate suit as bait to distract it," Burns said. "I won't complain, but I _will_ try to stop you," he said before grabbing a pressure suit and slipping it on.

* * *

 **THE MINE, LEVEL 03...**

As the elevator doors opened, Burns, Elliot, and Garfield stepped out into the darkness of the cavern, looking around at the air supply stations and tool racks lining the walls. Over near the air shack, Burns saw a body on the ground. "Fairbank!" she called out as she rushed over, dragging Elliot and Garfield with her on the tow line.

Kneeling down next to the man, Burns turned his body over, looking at the agonized expression on the dead man's face, his body having been deprived of air for too long. The three people were silent as they looked at how close Fairbank was to the outer airlock door of the shack. "Come on, Burns. Let's... let's take his body back inside," Garfield said solemnly. "I'll carry him," he offered as he stepped forward.

"No. I will," Elliot said. "I'm stronger than both of you. It'll be more expedient this way," he said as he knelt down and reached under the dead miner's corpse to lift him up. The trio then made their way back to the elevator.

* * *

 **THE MEDICAL LAB, ONE HOUR LATER...**

Elliot zipped up Fairbank's body in the body bag before carrying it onto the gurney. Sitting on the examination table, Green was holding his head in his hands, while Garfield looked on as he leaned back against a medical cabinet. Burns, who had donned her usual attire again, was sitting at the lab's main computer, looking up information that Elliot had collected on the facehugger earlier in an effort to learn more about the newly grown alien.

The rest of the station's crew had returned to the operations center after Fairbank's body had been retrieved, with Hansen remotely locking the elevator doors again and activating a deadbolt on the inter-level maintenance shaft hatches to prevent them from being accidentally activated by the creature. Burns had noted quite loudly that the alien must have learned how to open and close the maintenance hatches in order to travel through the station. She had then relayed this information to Hansen, who had remotely activated the inter-level deadbolt immediately after hearing her words.

"We'd better meet up with the others now," Garfield said as he began walking over to the doors of the lab. "Yeah," Burns said with a frustrated sigh. She had not been able to find anything of note while searching through Elliot's data on the facehugger.

"Elliot, let's go," Burns said as she stood up and joined Garfield by the doors. Elliot looked over at Green before motioning for him to get off the table. "Alright," Elliot said as he allowed Green to walk ahead of him.

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER...**

"What do we do?" Milo asked as the group gathered around the main display table. "We lure it into an airlock and blow it out into space or we lure it into the maintenance garage and shoot it to death," Burns said as she walked over to the table and pulled up a map of the third level of the station. "What?" Milo asked her incredulously.

"Those are our options. You have any better ideas?" Burns asked the mechanic. "Well... I guess not," Milo replied sheepishly.

"I'm not going back down there," Torres said firmly. "That's fine. I don't need that many people for this anyway," Burns said. "Besides, I need people who won't tuck tail and run away at the first opportunity," Burns added, glaring at Torres.

"Well, what was I supposed to do!?" Torres retorted. Burns simply turned away and looked back at the table. "So, we have the unused airlock in section E. We can lure the alien into that airlock and then let space do the rest," Burns said as she pulled up the floor plans and zoomed in on that section of the station. "Alternatively, we can lure it into the maintenance garage, where the floors should be thick enough to withstand this thing's blood. We can use normal bullets on it in there and hopefully kill it outright," she added.

"How do you plan to lure it to either location?" Garfield asked her. "Well, we could always flush it out. I mean, if it's able to open and close the shaft hatches, it can go anywhere it wants on that level. Just leave a trail of candy down the shaft that leads to the location we want to use the most," Burns said humorously.

"What about the others? Could they still be alive?" Brooks asked, referring to Marcus, Hoffman, and Goodwin. "At this point? Maybe Marcus and Hoffman, since we never found any blood where they were taken, but Goodwin's probably dead," Burns replied. She then glanced over at Elliot. "Elliot? Do you want to lead a team to find them while I take care of the alien?" Burns asked the droid.

"Burns, why don't you allow _me_ to lure the creature into the airlock or the maintenance garage?" Elliot finally asked. "Um, excuse me? It was _my_ idea, Elliot. I'm the one who's gonna be bait," Burns said. "Okay, first of all, I'm the second-in-command here. Second, it's too risky at this point. Third, I'm a droid. I won't have any problems putting myself in harms way. I mean, I'd rather not, but if anything goes wrong, I'm the most likely person to survive an encounter with this thing," Elliot replied.

"He's got a point," Garfield said. "Alright. Elliot will be the bait if we go with the airlock trap. While _I_ will be the bait if we go with the maintenance garage," Burns said as a compromise. "Is that acceptable to you?" she asked the droid.

"Fair enough," Elliot said reluctantly. Burns nodded her head at him. "Good," Burns said. "We only have a few days until the others return from Dalia. We need to kill this thing before they return," Burns added.

"Wait, why don't we just _wait_ until the others return to deal with this thing?" Martin half asked, half suggested. "Because it's better to take care of it _now_ ," Burns replied. "Yeah, but if we wait until the others return, then we'll have nearly _thirty people_ here to deal with this thing. Thirty people versus _one_ alien," Martin said in response.

"Martin, there are _already_ a dozen of us and just one creature. I think the odds are already in our favor," Burns sniped back. "In our _favor?_ " Martin guffawed. "Burns, we've already lost five people to this thing. At least if we have thirty people we can just gang up on this thing and overpower it. We'll just corner it, throw some nets on it, and then wail on it until it stops moving," Martin said.

"Yeah, and how many people are gonna get their intestines ripped out in the process?" Burns asked him pointedly. Martin opened his mouth to respond, only to realize that Burns had a very good point. "Okay. Fair enough. We'll go with your plan," he said in defeat.

Burns quickly turned her attention to Sergeant Brown and Deputy Kendricks. "Brown, I want you and Kendricks to start replacing the ammo for half of the shotguns," Burns said. "Use red tape on the ones with normal bullets, and blue tape on the ones with riot ammunition," she added. Brown and Kendricks nodded their heads and began gathering up the shotguns and ammo boxes before leaving the room. "I want everyone else to keep those tasers on hand and at least try to get some rest in the next few hours. Elliot, we're gonna start mapping our path to lure the alien, and then I'm gonna try to catch some shut-eye before we begin the operation. We're gonna need to recharge ourselves," Burns said as she glanced at the droid. Elliot nodded his head in agreement before stepping closer to the display table.

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 19th, 2137**

 **A-TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-C**

The elevator dinged before the doors opened and Burns stepped out, holding a shotgun with blue masking tape wrapped around the barrel and the flashlight. She was still wearing her jacket, with her cowboy hat hanging on the back of her neck, as Bowman followed her out of the elevator, holding a motion tracker in his hands. He had a long-arm taser resting on his back as it was secured by a strap around his torso.

Kendricks and Brown both stepped out of the elevator after them, along with Brooks, who was also carrying a taser. Kendricks and Brown were both carrying shotguns with red masking tape wrapped around the barrels. Everyone huddled closely around Bowman to check on the motion tracker as the elevator doors closed behind them. The green light above the doors soon turned red as the elevator was locked down remotely.

 **B-TEAM, LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-E**

Elliot slowly stepped out of the elevator, with Garfield, Milo, Rains, Martin, and Green following after him before the elevator doors closed. Torres had chosen to remain in the security center with Hansen. B-Team quietly began making their way to the airlock so that they could begin setting up the trap, with Green holding the motion tracker.

"Alright, once we've prepared the airlock, I want the rest of you to return to the next level up," Elliot said as the group made its way to the airlock. "Wait, what? You'll be by yourself," Martin said. "Not entirely. A-Team is still down here. Besides, I have a greater chance for survival against this creature than the rest of you," Elliot responded.

"Milo and Rains, please set up the doors to each room so that they require manual input to open. That way the alien won't be able to simply walk into a room if it senses that something is wrong," Elliot said. "Mister Yulan, you're still going to need a second person to help you with the airlock. Someone will need to be able to lock the airlock doors after you've lured the xen- _alien_ inside," Garfield said. Elliot imperceptibly raised an eyebrow at Garfield's slip-up, but otherwise kept quiet.

He would question Garfield later regarding his knowledge on the creature. "Alright, Garfield, if you're volunteering, then I'd suggest that you grab yourself an EVA suit," Elliot said. Garfield blinked in confusion. "EVA?" Garfield asked the droid.

"Extra-Vehicular Activity. It has extra padding and layers to protect against various types of radiation when on the surface of a planetary body with little to no atmosphere," Elliot explained. "Oh. You could have just said space suit," Garfield retorted.

"Either way, having someone with a suit on will help. You can put on the suit and wait in the airlock until I've arrived. Then you can open the doors and the creature will be asphyxiated and suffocate in the vacuum of space. Just grab a safety line and hook yourself up to one of the outside latches next to the doors," Elliot said.

"What about the rest of us?" Rains asked the droid. Elliot glanced back and looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean? I already told you what to do; return to the upper levels," Elliot replied as the group turned a corner.

Soon, the group came upon the airlock. It was a large airlock, with two EVA suit closets inside of it. "Milo, Rains; help Garfield put on the EVA suit. Martin, Green; help me change the controls for the doors in this section," Elliot ordered. "Wait, Elliot," Rains said. "Why don't _I_ put on the suit? I have actual experience using one, and I doubt that Mister Garfield has enough experience to actually handle it at a critical moment," Rains finished.

Elliot glanced at Garfield. "How much EVA experience do you have, Mister Garfield?" Elliot asked the corporate suit. "About forty-eight hours at most," Garfield admitted with a shrug. "Have you ever performed any maintenance work any physical labor while wearing a space suit?" Milo asked him.

"Um, no. I've only done the minimum training that was required to get a license for inter-system travel," Garfield explained. Rains let out a sigh. "Elliot, you'd better let me do it," he said as he shook his head, frowning at the Weyland-Yutani executive.

Elliot frowned as well. "Alright, but no heroics. When I lure the alien into the airlock, you seal it in there and then open the door to suck it out," Elliot said sternly. "I know. I know," Rains said as he opened the inner airlock doors and walked over to one of the space suit cabinets. He quickly began checking the suit's air supply before hooking it up to a wall-mounted supply kiosk, un-spooling a hose from the wall and attaching it to an open cap on the suit's air supply.

"We may wanna wait a little while before luring that thing in here. These suits haven't seen much usage, and they need to have their air supplies refilled," Rains said. "Milo, go get another suit and check its air supply," Rains then ordered his subordinate. Milo quickly pulled another suit out of the cabinet and dragged it over to the air-supply kiosk.

 **A-TEAM, SECTION 03-A...**

Burns slowly crept through a corridor, shining her flashlight around the walls as Bowman kept behind her. "Bowman, when we find this thing, let me draw its attention," Burns said quietly as the duo stopped in the middle of the corridor. "Are you sure you'll be able to make it to the garage on your own?" Bowman asked her in response.

"Positive. You just need to stay out of... um, sight? Just don't draw attention to yourself," Burns replied. "Right. I'm the one holding the machine that makes loud beeps," Bowman retorted, referencing the motion tracker in his hands. "Then throw it away from yourself. It'll probably go after whatever makes the most noise," Burns responded.

"Gotcha," Bowman said, rolling his eyes at the suggestion. "Oh, Bowman?" Burns asked as she glanced back at him. "Yeah?" he asked her. "You do still have those ear plugs, right?" Burns asked him.

Bowman reached into his pants pockets and felt around before pulling the plugs out. "Yeah," he said before putting them back. "Good," Burns said as the duo rounded the next corner, soon coming upon the entrance to the miners' quarters. The miners' quarters was a very large room with several cubicles in it, each one at least two levels, and several pipes and scaffolds next to metal staircases. There were several supply crates lining the walls of the room, along with tool boxes, carts, laundry baskets and hampers, and four laundry washers and driers set up on the far end of the room.

There was a medical kiosk located in one corner of the room, along with a rack holding several dozen emergency pressure suits and air supplies. There was a fire alarm located next to the main door, along with two fire extinguishers. In the corner of the room closest to the entrance, there was a medical cabinet filled with basic medical supplies and limited emergency supplies.

Burns aimed the shotgun around the room, illuminating the interior with the flashlight taped to its underside. She glanced back at Bowman and the motion tracker in his hands, with was simply producing a faint pulse as they moved through the room. Normally, there was a certain amount of noise in this large room as the miners shouted at each other and tried to sleep, along with the faint hum of the air vents and cooling fans. Right now, only the background noise of machinery and the air ducts could be heard. The room was unnaturally quiet, and Burns found herself becoming more alert with every passing second.

" _Bowman, turn down the volume on that thing,_ " Burns whispered as she glanced up at the second cubicle floor. There were several air vents and maintenance shaft ducts throughout the room, with one shaft running directly above the second floor of the cubicles, along with an open hatch at one end. Looking down at the floor, Burns saw small puddles of what could have been drool.

Kneeling down next to one such puddle, she put on some fingerless gloves and then placed her finger tips down on the puddle, pulling them up to demonstrate the viscous nature of the substance. Burns heard a series of small clicks coming from behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Bowman adjusting the volume on the motion tracker. He glanced at her after he was finished and gave her a thumbs up.

" _It's definitely been in here recently_ ," Burns whispered as she stood up. She motioned for Bowman to follow her as she slowly stalked over to the nearest staircase, holding her shotgun in one hand while putting the other hand on the railing. She slowly began to ascend the stairs, watching out for wetness on each step in front of her.

Burns was half-way up the stairs when the motion tracker let out a faint beep. She and Bowman both stood stock still as they glanced around the room. The tracker remained silent for another sixty seconds, before it let out another beep. Bowman kept his eyes on the motion tracker as the beeping continued.

Beep... ... ... ... Beep... ... ... ... Beep...

Beep... ... ... ... Beep... ... ... Beep...

Beep... ... ... Beep... ... ... Beep...

" _It's close,_ " Bowman whispered as a small white dot moved around the screen of the tracker, just touching the edge of the frame as it slowly moved around the perimeter of the room. " _It isn't in here yet. Hurry, we can find a place to hide before it gets here,_ " Bowman whispered to Burns.

Beep... ... ... Beep... ... ... Beep...

Beep... ... ... Beep... ... Beep...

Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep...

" _You can hide, Bowman, but I want that thing to see me. It's part of the plan, remember?_ " Burns quickly reminded Bowman. Bowman frowned before nodding his head. " _Yeah. Doesn't mean I have to like it,_ " he whispered. " _You don't have to like it. Just don't fuck it up,_ " Burns whispered to him in response.

Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep...

Beep... ... Beep... Beep...

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Burns crept further up the staircase as the beeping continued. Bowman glanced down and saw the white dot moving closer to their position on the tracker, appearing directly above them for a few seconds. " _It's right on top of us!_ " Bowman whispered to Burns fearfully. Burns glanced up and looked around the ceiling of the room before glancing down over the rail of the staircase, checking for signs of the creature on the floor.

" _It's still in the maintenance shaft,_ " Burns whispered as she continued creeping up the stairs before turning off the safety on her shotgun. She then reached the top landing, staring down a corridor with cubicle doors on each side. The first and second levels of miners' quarters had fifteen cubicles each, with five rows of connected cubicles. From a birds-eye-view the level would look like an 'E' with four lines perpendicular to the back line instead of three.

There were staircase landings on all four sides of the second level, although a supply closet and safety rails lined the otherwise open spaces between the cubicles outer rim area, except where the staircases were connected. There were, of course, several wires and cables connecting each cubicle with various intercom systems, along with various small pipes and hoses that fed into the air shafts above the cubicles and vent systems of the facility. Moving forward, Burns gestured for Bowman to keep up as she held her shotgun steady and moved slowly through the hallway of the second level.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Burns glanced at the various name plates above the doors to each cubicle she passed. The beeping of the motion tracker briefly subsided for a minute, prompting Burns and Bowman to stop in their tracks and wait before it started up again. The beeping persisted as they came upon the first T- junction of the level, between aisles B and C. The back row of cubicles was labeled aisle A.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

There was a slight rumbling noise above the duo. Burns glanced at the cubicle next to them seeing that it was Yoshizawa's cubicle. She quickly opened the door and gestured for Bowman to hide inside the room. " _Hide under the bed,_ " Burns whispered to Bowman before closing the door behind him. She remained out in the hallway and opened two more doors to other cubicles as she slowly crept around the rest of the level, searching for the alien.

Meanwhile, Bowman was quickly sliding himself under Yoshizawa's bed, listening to the beeps of the motion tracker and keeping his eyes on the small blinking white dot on the screen. The white dot soon disappeared from view, forcing him to turn the tracker around to keep it in range. He'd unstrapped his taser and had placed it in front of him as he lay on his side under the bed, listening as the beeps continued. He watched as the white dot moved closer to his position, before moving past the room.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

The dot soon returned, and Bowman desperately began lowering the volume of the motion tracker. He soon heard movement outside the door, before he heard the door slide open, and listened to the slow, deliberate footsteps that drew closer to the bed. The motion tracker was almost silent now, save for the faintest of beeps as the white dot moved ever closer to his position.

Bowman held his breath as the dot moved closer to the bed, and he chanced looking away from the screen to see two very dark human-like feet with small claws on the end of each toe. There were six toes total, and they were all arranged the way that human toes were arranged on a foot. The ankle and foot both appeared organic and yet mechanical at the same time, with black coloration and tiny yellow speckles seen in various locations.

There was a hiss and an intake of breath as the creature slowly walked around the room, its tail soon becoming visible as it walked further past the bed. Bowman watched with wide, terrified eyes as the tail slowly swayed on the ground, moving ever closer to him. If it touched him or the taser, then the creature would be aware of his presence.

Bowman listened intently as various objects were fondled and moved around on the small shelves in the room, with paper magazines being flipped through, as though the creature were thumbing the pages. There was a hissing noise, followed by a gurgling sound, and then there was a quick whooshing noise as something tore through paper. There was another huff before Bowman saw one magazine being dropped on the floor, a large hole present in the middle of several pages before more pieces of wet paper fell to the floor around the alien's feet, which soon kicked the ruined magazine away. The sound of a drawer opening soon caught Bowman's attention, before a faint whirring and buzzing noise filled the air. There was a huff of breath before the whirring stopped, and the object was returned to the drawer. The drawer was then closed, before the one under it was opened and Bowman heard the sound of the alien rifling through clothing before closing that drawer as well.

The alien then turned around, briefly pausing so that its feet were both pointed in Bowman's direction, before it completed its turn and walked out of the room. The door remained open until Bowman heard the creature's tail slide along the floor, and then the door slid closed. He held his breath a minute longer, before slowly letting it out and inhaling quietly.

A few more minutes passed, as Bowman returned his gaze to the motion tracker, showing the white dot soon disappearing from the tracker. Bowman moved the tracker around to see if he could pick up the creature's location again, but it was gone. Glancing back out at the floor of the room, Bowman weighed his options. He hadn't heard anything resembling gunfire, so Burns was probably still alive, and the creature had disappeared. Granted, Burns would probably be upset that she had missed her opportunity to get the creature's attention, but to Bowman, being alive beat being chased by an alien monster.

Slowly, cautiously, Bowman began to push himself out from under the bed, pushing the long-arm taser out first, along with the motion tracker. He was halfway out when the motion tracker produced the faintest of beeps, causing him to stop moving. He glanced back down with wide eyes. If Burns had gone far enough out of the tracker's range, then it was possible that it would register her as movement again.

Nibbling on his lower lip as he weighed his options, Bowman slowly began pushing himself out from under the bed. When he was all the way out, he put himself into a crouching position, facing the door as he held his taser defensively, and positioned the motion tracker in front of him. He kept his eyes moving between the tracker and the door as he waited with baited breath for any further signs of movement beyond the door.

After another minute had passed, Bowman slowly stood up, carrying the motion tracker as he stealthily moved forward. Ever so slowly, he crept toward the door. He reached a hand out, hovering just centimeters from the door's manual controls. Closing his eyes and inhaling through his nostrils, Bowman forced himself to open the door.

As soon as the door slid open, Bowman immediately wished that he hadn't.

Standing in front of the open doorway was the biomechanical nightmare that had erupted from Eastman's chest, christened by Fred Marcus as Yellow Bill. Yellow Bill was hunched over, and its head was aimed straight at Bowman, whose eyes widened in fright. Yellow Bill smiled cruelly before stepping forward into the room.

" _Oh **shit**_ ," Bowman hissed under his breath before he held up his taser and jabbed it forward, hitting Yellow Bill in the chest. Yellow Bill paused and 'glanced' down at its chest where the rubber cap of the taser was touching it. Bowman gulped as he realized what he had forgotten to do.

Reaching forward, Yellow Bill grabbed the shaft of the taser and pushed it away from its chest. It snarled at Bowman, who stepped back, still holding the taser, as Yellow Bill stepped towards him menacingly. Yellow Bill soon parted its lips fully to reveal its shining metallic teeth to the frightened man in front of it.

Trying to control himself, Bowman used his other hand to try adjusting the motion tracker's volume, letting the beeps become louder as Yellow Bill continued stepping forward, soon backing the man against the wall. The only thing between Bowman and Yellow Bill now was the long-arm taser, which Yellow Bill was still grasping the shaft of with one six-fingered hand. Yellow Bill's tail began twitching and swaying in anticipation as drool dripped from the creature's mouth, and it swayed its oblong head and looked downward before standing straight, increasing its intimidation factor.

"B-B-Burns! Burns!" Bowman shouted. The motion tracker soon beeped loudly, distracting Yellow Bill ever so briefly before foot steps were heard behind it. "Jesus Christ!" Bowman heard Burns swear as she arrived at the doorway.

"Hey, Dick-head!" Burns shouted, grabbing Yellow Bill's attention. Yellow Bill, still holding the taser, turned around to aim its head at Burns quizzically. "Leave the dweeb alone," Burns snarled as she aimed her shotgun at it. Yellow Bill remembered the sting of weapon as its advanced bio-electric field detection and echolocation capabilities allowed it to "see" the woman and the object in her hands.

Yellow Bill frowned at the sight of the weapon, before focusing on Burns herself. "I said... step. Away. From. Him," she growled. "Last chance," she added as she stepped forward, just entering the threshold of the doorway. She then glancing down, using her peripheral vision, and saw the creature's tail on the floor.

Yellow Bill still refused to budge. There was less room in this area for it to maneuver, and the only escape tunnels were located outside of the room. The human male, it could tell from pheromones and hormone signatures, was practically defenseless, but the female, which it could identify from hormone and pheromone signatures, was armed and aggressive. She could easily hurt it if she used her weapon enough times in the right spot.

Yellow Bill 'glanced' back at Bowman and tilted its head quizzically in thought. This, however, was mistook by Burns for deliberate dismissal. "I warned ya," she muttered before stepping forward and stomping down on Yellow Bill's tail. Yellow Bill raised its head and opened its mouth to let out an elephant-like squeal of pain and shock.

Yellow Bill quickly turned around and snarled at Burns. "Bowman, get the hell away from here and get to an elevator," Burns ordered before turning around and running out of the room. Yellow Bill, enraged, quickly lunged towards the door. As Yellow Bill was still holding the taser, it practically dragged Bowman with it before he and the alien both let go of the device as the alien exited the room.

Meanwhile, Burns ran through the narrow halls of the second level before quickly turning a corner and dashing toward the staircase. She could hear the alien behind her as it gave chase, her heart pounding away inside her chest with every loud clang as her boots met the floor. She quickly ran down the staircase and practically sprinted over to the doorway of the room, tapping her headset. "Brown, Kendricks! I've got its attention, so make sure that you're ready!" she yelled into the headset. She glanced back in time to see Yellow Bill climbing down the staircase.

It wasn't using the stairs, however. It was literally climbing down the side of the staircase before moving on all fours on the floor, its tail curled up behind it as it stood up and snarled at Burns. It quickly began running towards her. Burns quickly resumed running through the hallway as she led the beast towards her trap, holding her shotgun in both hands as her boots stomped on the floor underneath her.

Behind her, Yellow Bill leapt up to the ceiling before leaping to one wall, and then to another. It repeated this process as it wall-crawled after Burns, quickly catching up to her until she turned a corner and it had to slow down, forgetting to leap onto the adjacent wall. Yellow Bill kept its breathing even as it pursued its prey.

Burns led Yellow Bill through corridor after corridor, her heart pounding in her chest and her hands gripping her shotgun for dear life as she sprinted like a marathon runner down the halls, eventually coming across the corridor that held the entrance to the maintenance garage. She was almost there. The first door was open, and Burns quickly tilted herself so that her weight would carry her in the direction of the door as she leapt through the doorway and rolled over.

Yellow Bill stopped just outside of the doorway to the garage before it lowered itself from the wall down onto the floor to stand up. Burns glanced back at the doorway, seeing the alien weaving its head around, as though it were scanning the room. Kendricks and Brown were both hiding behind crates positioned on the left and right sides of the doorway, while Brooks was holding a taser while standing behind Brown.

When the alien was far enough into the room, Brooks would activate the doors, closing them before shocking the creature with his taser. Burns would then pull herself out of the way before Kendricks and Brown would take turns shooting it, using their crates and work benches as cover to protect themselves from its blood. Then someone would pour baking soda onto the creature's remains and the floor to help neutralize as much of its corrosive blood as possible in order to keep the damage to the floor to a minimum.

Of course, this would only work if the creature actually entered the room. With the alien simply standing in the doorway, that plan was starting to fall apart and Burns knew that she had to act fast in order to get things back on track. She quickly pulled her shotgun up and held it defensively, aiming it at the creature. She she slowly crawled back from the doorway, hoping that the alien would follow her and step far enough into the room that they could trap it. She stared at the creature, daring it to step forward.

Yellow Bill eagerly put one foot forward, until it stopped at the threshold of the room, seeing the shotgun aimed at it. It carefully 'glanced' around the doorway, having noticed a slight change in Burns's pheromone signature as her fear lessened. It could tell that something seemed off about its prey's behavior, although the dangerous object in its grasp may have accounted for that.

Burns scrunched her face in confusion. "What are you waiting for?" she asked it quietly. "Come on. I'm right here," she said as she fiddled with the safety of the weapon. She quickly squeezed the trigger to produce a click, and promptly feigned surprise and fear as she backed away further.

This seemed to do the trick as Yellow Bill stepped forward again, curling its lips and baring its teeth at Burns. Burns steadied her breath as the alien moved towards her, carefully switching the safety off again and waiting for it to fully enter the room. The alien soon stopped moving again, moving its head around curiously as it let out a hiss and a huff, before aiming its head at Burns again. It closed its lips and backed away from her.

"You dirty son of a bitch," Burns growled at Yellow Bill as she slowly pulled herself up into a crouching position, keeping her shotgun aimed at the alien. She then glanced over at Brown and Kendricks. "Brooks, shock the bastard! Don't let it leave the room!" she shouted. Brooks shot up and jabbed his taser forward, missing at hitting the wall as Yellow Bill leaned forward by an inch. Hearing the electric shock, Kendricks stood up and aimed his shotgun at the beast just as Brooks pulled the taser back so that he could try to hit the alien again.

Yellow Bill ducked just milliseconds before Kendricks fired his shotgun. The metal slug sped forward and immediately hit Brooks in the chest, entering his body and plowing throw, blowing out his back and shattering his spine as it exited with blood and bone. Of all the things that had been accounted for in planning their trap, body armor had been forgotten.

"Brooks!" Burns yelled as the geologist fell back, toppling onto Brown and pushing him onto the floor with a pained cry. Yellow Bill quickly stood up and grabbed Kendricks' shotgun, yanking it out of his hands before using its free hand to grab him and pull him over the crate. Kendricks cried out in surprise and terror before the creature's barbed tail shot forward and stung him in the shoulder.

Kendricks let out a cry as he struggled against Yellow Bill, only for the creature pull him into the hallway and throw the shotgun onto the floor before hitting the controls with its now free hand, closing the doors behind it. " _Help! Let me go! Someone help!_ " Kendricks' panicked and terrified yells began fading as the creature swiftly carried him down a corridor and away from the maintenance garage.

Meanwhile, Brown was busy trying to move Brooks off of him as the geologist clung to him, frightened as the gaping hole in his chest bled out, gasping painfully. Brooks' breathing became faint and labored as Brown tried to comfort his dying friend. "Brooks, just hold onto me! Just breathe slow and hold my hand. I'll be right here. Just-Just... Brooks? _Brooks_ ," Brown whispered mournfully as his friend eventually became limp and his breathing stopped.

Brown set the dead man's body onto the floor and placed his hand on his face to close his eyes before Burns ran over to him. "Come on! We have to help Kendricks!" she implored him. Brown looked up at her and back down at Brooks's corpse before standing up and grimly nodding his head. "Brooks is dead, Ryan," Burns said solemnly. "But Kendricks might still be alive. We can still save him _if_ we can get to him in time. Come on!" Burns implored as she ran over to the doors and hit the OPEN button on the control panel.

The doors slid open and Brown followed Burns out of the room, both of them chasing after the alien and their captured co-worker. "Kendricks! Just hold on! We're coming to get ya!" Brown shouted as he and Burns ran through the corridors. Eventually, though, Kendricks' screams could no longer be heard, and there were no signs of Yellow Bill. "Shit, we've lost 'em!" Burns growled in frustration after a few more minutes of fruitless searching.

Instead of running, the duo now began moving slowly, carefully inspecting each room they passed and every corner they turned. No room was left alone, no door was left untouched, and no vent was left unchecked. The duo proceeded quietly, their worry growing with every passing minute, knowing that their chances of catching up to the alien and rescuing Kendricks were getting slimmer by the minute.

As the duo continued moving cautiously through the corridors, they heard the beeps of a motion tracker. Moving closer to the source of the beeps, Burns and Brown soon came upon a frightened Bowman, who was holding his taser defensively as he pressed himself against an alcove, the motion tracker sitting on the floor in front of him. The rubber cap had been removed from the prongs of the taser, and Bowman was practically sweating buckets as he let out a nervous chuckle, followed by a relieved smile spreading over his lips.

"Did you see them?" Brown asked Bowman. "Them? Elliot's team?" Bowman asked him, slightly confused. "No, not _them_. Kendricks and the alien. It took him. It took Kendricks," Brown replied. "I saw movement on the tracker, and I hid in here," Bowman said, shaking his head. "Which direction? Which direction did they go?" Brown asked him.

"Look, I don't know if the movement on the tracker was from the alien or you guys, okay? I-I don't know!" Bowman stammered. "I just wanna get the hell out of here," he added quietly as he picked up the motion tracker. "We have to rescue Kendricks first," Brown said. Bowman glanced between the two people and noticed something.

"Wait... where's Brooks?" Bowman asked them, remembering the geologist having joined them earlier. "He's dead," Burns said. Bowman leaned back against the alcove wall and let out a sigh of frustration and angst. "Jesus... _Christ_ ," Bowman muttered as he glanced down at the floor.

"So, what do we do now?" Bowman asked hesitantly. Burns looked at him before glancing down the hallway. "Hold on," Burns said before she tapped her headset. "Elliot, please respond. This is Burns. Please respond, over," Burns said.

" _Burns, what's the situation?_ " Elliot asked her. "Brooks is dead and Kendricks has been captured by the alien. I'm taking Brown and Bowman to go rescue him," Burns explained. " _Negative. Get back to level two or level one and regroup with the others. I've already sent Martin, Milo, and Green back up to the second level. I've got Garfield and Rains waiting in the airlock. Just tell me where it's going and I'll lure it after me,_ " Elliot replied.

"Elliot, Kendricks' life is in our hands! If we chase this thing, we can probably find Marcus and Hoffman too!" Burns retorted. " _I'm sorry, Burns. But I'm in charge and I'm ordering you to regroup with the others. We already have the airlock set up for Plan B. We'll take care of the alien,_ " Elliot ordered her.

"I'm only going up if you come along," Burns replied. " _Burns, don't do this,_ " Elliot pleaded. "Elliot, we've lost too many people already. This could be our only chance to find the others," Burns retorted.

" _Burns... fine. I'll take Garfield and Rains back up with me, but I expect to see you and the others on level three in thirty minutes. Elliot out,_ " Elliot said over the headset. "Affirmative," Burns said reluctantly. Elliot had worked her ultimatum against her.

"Alright, we're going back up," Burns said angrily as she began leading Brown and Bowman through the corridors to the nearest elevator. There was a beep on her headset. "This is Burns," Burns said. " _Burns, I have some very bad news,_ " Hansen said over the headset.

"What is it?" Burns asked him. There was a moment of silence on the line. "Hansen? What's the bad news?" Burns asked again.

" _I've lost the video feed from four different cameras on Level Three. I don't know if it's taking them out by accident or on purpose, but I can't track it properly now. Burns, you and the others need to get out of there now!_ "

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter nine of Hard-Heads. As you can tell, the new major difference between Yellow Bill and other xenomorphs is its anthropomorphism and slightly higher intelligence, at least for a Xenomorph as young as Yellow Bill. Remember that in the second movie, the xenomorphs had been alive for several weeks, and thus were able to learn basic things about their environment. They knew how to cut the power, having attacked the main complex of Hadley's Hope on multiple occasions prior to the arrival of the Sulaco, and thus were able to figure out how to at least maneuver around the ducts and hallways of the place with ease.

Now, for the subject of Yellow Bill's anthropomorphism, I can simply tell you that Yellow Bill is from a different strain of Xenomorph made by the Engineers. It's a younger strain than the one found in the ship on LV-426, and it was only produced in limited quantities, found in only a small number of Engineer vessels and facilities, while the basic strain seen in ALIEN and ALIENS is probably a much more common strain, or even the base strain. Basically, the Taros Strain is a modified variant of the LV-426 strain, altered directly by the Engineers for... whatever reason. Shits. Giggles. Who knows?

Now, will Yellow Bill's anthropomorphism extend to imitating human-like behavior? Only in the most basic of ways, such as grabbing things instead of clawing at them, or using its hands to press buttons (accidentally on most occasions), very limited tool-usage, and displaying basic sadism. Yellow Bill is more intelligent than the average Xenomorph, but only by a relatively small quotient or percentage. Yellow Bill is still, at its core, a deadly animalistic asexual bio-weapon that ultimately has no culture and only the most basic of tool-usage capabilities, like an alligator.

For another note, the amount of time that has passed between the debate in the operations center and the initiation of Burns' new plan is only a few hours. It's only just enough time for the humans to catch a little bit of rest to prevent themselves from burning out. Given how things have been turning out for them so far, and what I have in store for them in the next chapter, they need it.

Also of note, I wrote most of this chapter while listening to Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack for OUTLAND (1981). In particular, I listened to the tracks Early Arrival and The Hunted, which are used when Federal Marshal William O'Niel (Sean Connery) is being hunted by the two hit-men hired by Operations Director Mark Sheppard (Peter Boyle) after O'Niel destroys several million dollars worth of illegal narcotics that Sheppard was secretly distributing among the miners to increase their work capacity and raise the mining quota for the station.

And, as a response to reviewers saying that they liked the "couple" of Lambert and Kane's Son in my one-shot? That's not supposed to be a pairing. That's supposed to be a role-reversal that sends up the usual portrayal of xenomorphs as deadly sexual beings by having its prey assault it in a sexual manner. The whole point of the one-shot was that it was a _parody_ of stories where the Xenomorph has sex with its prey. I... I don't see why people think that Lambert and Kane's Son are a... couple. Sure, the Xenomorph may have been more curious about females than the males, but aside from that... no. Just no.

Anyway, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	10. SITUATION UNDER CONTROL

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10: SITUATION UNDER CONTROL**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 19th, 2137**

 **TAROS STATION #04, MOON OF TAROS...**

"Alright, we're going back up," Burns said angrily as she began leading Brown and Bowman through the corridors to the nearest elevator. There was a beep on her headset. "This is Burns," Burns said. " _Burns, I have some very bad news,_ " Hansen said over the headset.

"What is it?" Burns asked him. There was a moment of silence on the line. "Hansen? What's the bad news?" Burns asked again.

" _I've lost the video feed from four different cameras on Level Three. I don't know if it's taking them out by accident or on purpose, but I can't track it properly now. Burns, you and the others need to get out of there now!_ "

Burns glanced around the hallways as Hansen continued speaking. "Hansen, is there a specific order in how the cameras are being taken out? Any areas of the station in particular?" Burns asked him.

" _What? Uh, just hold on,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. " _Yeah, Section Three-A. Most of the cameras are going dark. Which section are you in right now?_ " Hansen asked in response. "We're in section-three-A," Burns replied as she gripped her shotgun.

" _Burns, get out of there. Get out of there_ _ **now!**_ " Hansen urged. "Understood," Burns said as she furrowed her brows and glared at the corridor ahead of them, seeing the elevator doors with red lights above them. "Hansen, we're almost at elevator three-A-two. Can you unlock it for us?" Burns requested as the trio got closer to the elevator.

" _Just give me a few seconds,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. Burns, Brown, and Bowman quickly converged on the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. The light above the doors was still red when they arrived. "Hansen, we're still waiting," Burns said into the headset.

" _It's unlocked,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. Burns looked up at the red light above the doors. "Like hell it is. Hansen, the light is still red," Burns said as she pressed the button to retrieve the car. " _It's unlocked, Burns. The light should be green,_ " Hansen reiterated.

"Hansen... which elevator did you unlock?" Burns asked him. " _Elevator three-A-three. That's the one you said you were heading toward,_ " Hansen replied. Burns scrunched up her face in anger. "Dammit, Hansen! I said THREE-A-TWO! T-W-O!" Burns shouted into the headset in anger.

" _Sorry! Just let me lock the other one before unlocking that one,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. Just then, there was a beep on the motion tracker. All three of them glanced down at the device in Bowman's hands.

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

"Maybe we can lure it back to the garage? We can lure it back there and shoot it again," Brown suggested. "We're already at the elevator," Bowman protested as the motion tracker continued beeping.

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

The lights above the elevator doors soon changed from red to green. The elevator doors then slid open and the trio entered the car. Burns quickly pressed the button to close the door as the motion tracker's beeping continued.

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... BEEP...

Burns quickly selected level two before standing back from the doors. "Hansen, we're in. You can lock the elevator down once we're out," Burns said into the headset. " _Understood. I'll be waiting for confirmation,_ " Hansen said over the headset. The elevator began moving up with a ding, allowing the trio inside to collectively sigh in relief.

"Can anything else go wrong today?" Burns asked rhetorically, before the elevator stopped moving. Brown and Bowman both looked around before focusing their attention on her. "Uh, Burns? Please tell me that we've arrived on level two already," Bowman requested. Burns looked at the floor indicator on the elevator. The light for level three was still lit. "Uh, no," Burns finally said.

"Hansen, this is Burns. Something's wrong with the elevator," she said into the headset. " _I know. I'm getting an error message on the screen. I'm working on fixing the problem,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. "Okay," Burns said as she leaned back against the wall.

A few minutes passed before Hansen spoke through the headset again. " _Burns, I've figured out how to fix the problem remotely. Unfortunately, I don't think you're gonna like it,_ " Hansen said. "Okay, why's that?" Burns asked him. " _I have to make the elevator go back down, open the doors completely, and then close them again. Something didn't catch when the doors closed on level three, and one of the fail-safes went off,_ " Hansen explained.

A false smile appeared on Burns' lips as she inhaled and then exhaled. "Is that so?" she asked with restrained anger. " _Uh, yes. Look, the elevator stopped halfway between levels three and two. I can't remotely take it up any further to let you out. It has to go back down to three in order to be fixed. I'm sorry,_ " Hansen said over the headset.

"Hansen, the door below us is still locked, right?" Burns asked him. " _Negative. Until I send the elevator car back down and open the doors and close them, the doors on level three are gonna be unlocked. All of the doors connected to that elevator are currently unlocked right now. It's part of the fail-safe to allow maintenance workers manual access_ ," Hansen replied.

"Shit," Burns swore in frustration. "Okay, we're gonna find a way to open the doors from inside and crawl out onto level two," she said into the headset. " _I don't know if that'll work, Burns. Are you guys armed?_ " Hansen asked her. Burns glanced down at the shotgun in her hands before looking at Bowman and Brown, each holding a long-arm taser and a shotgun, respectively. "Yeah, we're armed," Burns replied.

" _Then just hold tight while I send the elevator back down and open the doors. The only way to fix this is to open the doors completely and then close them before sending the elevator car back up to level two,_ " Hansen explained. "That's no good. That thing could be waiting right outside the doors for us," Burns replied.

" _I'm sorry, but that's the only safe solution. Opening those doors while the elevator is stuck between two levels isn't a sound option unless you've got something to hold them in place while you crawl through. Even then, the doors could still try to close themselves automatically if you activate further fail-safes by accident,_ " Hansen warned over the headset.

"Give us ten minutes, and then we'll go with the remote procedure," Burns said. She'd seen how quickly the alien had moved in the maintenance garage. Despite wanting to kill it, she knew that the elevator was not the place to do so.

" _Alright. Ten minutes. But you'd better be out of the elevator by then, or you're gonna be inside when I send the car back down_ ," Hansen said firmly. "I know. Just give us ten minutes to try to get out of here, and then you can do what you have to do," Burns responded.

" _Understood. I'll contact you when the ten minutes are up. Good luck_ ," Hansen replied, reluctantly agreeing to allow Burns to proceed with her plan. Burns nodded her head and tapped her headset. "Thanks. Burns out."

Burns then looked around the room for something to pry the elevator doors open. "Okay, we need a crowbar or something," she said. "We're actually going to try crawling out of here? what if the doors close on us?" Bowman asked her.

"Bowman, do you _want_ to be in here when Hansen sends the elevator back down?" Burns asked him. Bowman shook his head in response. "No. I really don't," he said negatively.

"Brown, can you help me open the doors manually?" Burns asked the new head of security. Brown nodded his head and set his shotgun down, leaning it against a corner. "Bowman, keep an eye on that motion tracker," Burns said as she glanced at the man. Bowman nodded his head in response.

Browsing the buttons on the control panel next to the doors, Burns searched for a manual release for the doors. "Come on, where are you?" she muttered as she went down row by row. "Come on... there you are!" Burns exclaimed with a grin as she pressed and held the button in for three seconds.

There was a clicking noise as the interior elevator doors parted ever so slightly. "We're in business. Brown help me push these open," Burns said. Brown quickly helped Burns to pry the doors open, inch by inch. The motion tracker soon began to beep, and both of them paused their actions.

"That... was the door, right?" Burns asked as she glanced over at Bowman. Bowman looked up at her and held his hand in the air. "Just wait a second," he said. The trio became quiet as they waited for another beep, but the device remained silent.

"It was just the door," Bowman said with a relieved sigh. Burns and Brown both resumed prying the doors open. Eventually, they were able to open them to the point that Brown was able to fit himself between the doors and press himself against one in order to push the other with his legs, revealing the thick floor and outer doors ahead of them, as well as the outer doors beneath them on level 03, which were partially opened.

There was more space opened for level 03 than for level 02. Glancing back up at the doors of level 02, Brown and Burns resumed their attempt to open them. "Hansen, this is Burns. We've gotten the inner elevator doors opened. How much time do we have left?" Burns asked into the headset.

" _You've got three minutes left on the timer. If you can get the doors_ _ **open**_ _in that time, I'll give you the time you need to get out, but if you can't, then you gotta close them and let me do the proper procedure_ ," Hansen replied over the headset. Burns nodded her head in understanding.

"Three minutes. Got it," Burns said before turning to look back at Bowman and Brown. "We got three-" "We heard you," Brown said. "Come on," he added as he moved to begin trying to pry open the outer doors on level 02.

The motion tracker beeped.

Glancing back over at Bowman, whose eyes were glued to the screen, Brown and Burns waited until they heard another beep, and another... and another. Bowman glanced up at them in concern. "Guys? Get that door open," Bowman said as he reached up to remove the rubber cap from the tip of the taser. He then angled it and held it so that it was aimed at the opened doors on level 03.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

As Burns and Brown both struggled to pry open the doors, Bowman held the taser steady, waiting with baited breath as the small white dot on the tracker moved closer to their position. He gulped as he glanced between the tracker and the crack in the doors, waiting to jab the taser at whatever moved into his line of sight.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

"Come on, get it open!" Burns grunted as she and Brown continued their attempt to open the doors. Unfortunately, the doors were shut tight. "I thought Hansen said these doors were unlocked," Burns muttered. "That doesn't mean they're gonna open for us," Brown retorted as he tried to pry the doors open.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Bowman took his eyes away from the doors on level 03 for only a second, but when he returned his gaze to them, he saw it. The alien was standing there, motionless and silent. "It's here," Bowman said fearfully as he gripped the taser tightly.

The alien tilted its head up before parting its lips to reveal its teeth in a horrific smile. It then placed both of its hands between the two level 03 doors and began to part them, moving its head forward as drool dripped from its lips. "Get back!" Bowman yelled before jabbing the taser forward and hitting the alien in the head. This time the prongs made contact with it and produced a zap, startling the beast before it let go of the doors with a shriek and backed away.

Burns and Brown both stepped over to the side to avoid touching the taser as they heard the commotion. " _Burns, this is Hansen. I'm sorry, but time's up. Do you have the doors open?_ " Hansen asked over the headset. "N-Negative. We couldn't open them," Burns replied as she walked over and grabbed her shotgun from the floor. Brown grabbed his as well.

" _I'm sorry, Burns, but this is the only way to reset that elevator. I have to close the inner doors by remote and send it back down to level three. I'm sorry. I wish there were another way,_ " Hansen said apologetically. Burns backed up against the wall of the elevator and held her shotgun tightly, aiming it at the doorway. "I know. Just... just do it. Get it over with already," Burns said worriedly into the headset.

There was a loud ding from a speaker and the elevator's inner doors began to slide shut. The elevator car then began to descend slowly before coming to a stop at the bottom of level 03. Burns, Bowman, and Brown all held their weapons at the ready as they waited for the doors to open.

There was a ding as the elevator doors began to slide open. Their hearts pounded away in fear and anticipation as the doors continued opening, soon parting all the way to reveal... an empty hallway. Everyone blinked in confusion, relief, and trepidation.

"W-Where is it?" Burns asked quietly as she scanned the hallway. Bowman glanced down at the motion tracker. There was no movement around them. The only noise it produced was its faint pulsing hum.

"Hansen? Can you close the doors now?" Burns asked through her headset. " _I just gotta wait a few more seconds. Then you guys will be home free,_ " Hansen replied over the headset. Burns nodded her head. They only had to wait a few more seconds until they would be safe again.

" _Okay, the elevator's been reset. One of you just needs to close the doors and select a floor,_ " Hansen said over the headset. Burns let out a sigh of relief as she slowly edged over to the control panel and hit the button for the second floor. Just as the doors began to close, the motion tracker beeped.

Burns looked up just in time to see two six-fingered hands reach into the doorway and grab both doors to halt their progress. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled as she aimed her shotgun at Yellow Bill and fired. The rubber bullet slammed into the alien before bouncing back and hitting Burns in her left leg, causing her to hiss in pain before stumbling back against the wall and sliding to the floor. Bowman quickly rushed to her side and pulled her back away from the doors.

Yellow Bill quickly stepped forward into the elevator car, only for Brown to rush it and slam into it, stunning it briefly as it was pushed back, falling over onto the hallway floor with Brown on top of it. Brown quickly got up and ran back into the elevator as the doors resumed closing, only to yell out as Yellow Bill grabbed his left leg, tripping him. "Brown!" Burns called out worriedly.

Brown quickly crawled forward, getting his torso into the elevator, expecting the doors' sensors to stop them after detecting him. He breathed in relief as the doors stopped in their tracks. Behind him, Yellow Bill stood up and walked over Brown before grabbing the doors and pulling them open. Brown glanced up at the alien in confusion before Yellow Bill looked back down at him and curled its lips into a cruel smile. Yellow Bill then pulled the doors back inward, slamming them into Brown's sides and causing him to scream in pain before the alien pushed the doors open again and repeated the action.

Bowman quickly let go of Burns before grabbing his taser and jabbing it forward. Yellow Bill shrieked in surprise and anger as it was shocked by the device, before it lashed out and grabbed the taser, pulling it from Bowman's hands with great force. Bowman fell forward as Yellow Bill pulled the taser out of his hands and tossed it in to the hallway behind it.

Bowman quickly crawled over to Brown's side in an attempt to pull him into the elevator, only for Yellow Bill to backhand him. Bowman cried out as he rolled onto the floor, holding his face in pain. Meanwhile, Burns quickly tried to move forward to help Brown, hissing in pain each time she put pressure on her leg, only for Yellow Bill to notice her as well. Yellow Bill hissed at her, only for Burns to keep moving forward. Curling its lips, Yellow Bill reared its head back before opening its mouth with a gurgling noise and spitting drool into Burns's face, surprising her and causing her to stumble back.

Brown quickly tried to pull himself forward while the alien was distracted, only to cry out again as he felt the doors slam into his sides with tremendous force. He felt intense pain shooting outward from his midsection, and he soon felt copper in his mouth as the alien repeated the action a third time. Yellow Bill kicked Brown onto his side after opening the doors again, and then it slammed the doors into him a fourth time, breaking Brown's spine and cutting into his gut.

Brown coughed out blood and screamed in pain before Yellow Bill pushed the doors open and knelt down to grab him, pulling him out of the elevator as the doors finally resumed closing shut. Burns and Bowman listened helplessly as Brown screamed in terror from beyond the door, before his cries were cut short after a faint but sickening wet crunch was heard. The elevator soon began to ascend.

* * *

 **THE INFIRMARY, LEVEL 02...**

"Well, it's nothing permanent," Elliot said as he examined the CAT-scan of Burns' injured leg on a nearby screen. Meanwhile, sitting on a chair nearby, Bowman sported an adhesive medical strip across his nose. Garfield was standing nearby, leaning back against the wall. Hansen was still in the security center, and everyone else had regrouped in the recreation room.

Burns let out a sigh. "There's a little bit of inflammation and swelling of the tissue, but nothing that can't be taken care of with an ice pack and some heating gel. Thankfully, your bones are intact. No fractures to be found," Elliot continued. Burns simply nodded her head quietly.

"Now," Elliot began, "I need to know more about what happened. Talk to me, Burns. What happened down there?" Burns looked Elliot in the eyes before letting out another sigh.

"It... it just... it's smarter than we thought," Burns finally said. "How did Brooks die?" Elliot asked her. "Kendricks... he shot him by accident. They were supposed to take turns. Brooks was supposed to shock the bastard and then duck behind a crate. Kendricks would rise up and shoot it before ducking for safety, and then Brown would get up and shoot it too," Burns explained.

"The alien... it got out of the way when Kendricks was about to shoot. It just... it happened so fast," Burns said, remembering how quickly things had gotten out of hand in the maintenance garage. "We should've gone with the airlock plan," Elliot said bluntly. Burns glared at him in response.

"The only person who would've gotten hurt would've been me," the droid added. Burns snorted in response. "This thing isn't a simple animal, Elliot. It _waited_ for us to open the doors and close them. It grabbed the doors and _deliberately_ slammed them into Brown! It _knew_ what it was doing!" Burns snapped.

"Could Sergeant Brown still be alive?" Garfield asked from where he was standing. "No. Not after what it did to him," Burns replied tiredly. The adrenaline was almost out of her system and she was beginning to feel exhausted, physically _and_ emotionally.

"So, what do we do now?" Garfield asked. Elliot looked over at him with a curious expression on his face. "Well, Garfield, perhaps you would like to come up with an idea of your own? I mean, surely a company executive such as yourself must have some brains in that head," Elliot responded.

Garfield narrowed his eyes at Elliot. "Okay, give me a minute to think of something," Garfield said carefully before looking down at the floor. A minute later, Garfield lifted his head up to look at Elliot again. "Alright, have we tried using fire against it?" he asked.

"Fire? Like... setting it on fire?" Bowman asked him curiously. "Sure, why not?" Garfield replied. "And what would we use? This is a mining facility," Elliot stated. "We don't exactly have the luxury of being on a colony with limitless air," the droid added.

"He's right," Burns chimed in. "We have a lot of gas canisters and other flammable substances in this place. If we aren't careful, we could end up blowing _ourselves_ up. Setting the alien on fire could be just as dangerous as letting it roam free," she added. Garfield rolled his eyes in response. "Right, because running around with shotguns _isn't_ dangerous," he said sarcastically.

"At least shotguns won't burn up our air supply," Burns countered. "No, but they _can_ blow up canisters of compressed gas, not to mention they've already caused the death of one of our-I mean, _your_ own," Garfield shot back. " _That_ was an _accident_ ," Burns retorted hotly.

"Okay, both of you need to calm down," Bowman said as he got up and walked over to stand between Garfield and Burns. "Look, we're all under a lot of pressure, and... um... look, things are bad, but if we let ourselves get... _riled up_ , then we'll just end up getting ourselves killed," Bowman said, improvising half of his statement on the fly. Garfield and Burns both looked at him skeptically. "Bowman? Please think before opening your mouth. You'll sound a lot more convincing in the future," Garfield said.

Running his hand through his hair, Elliot let out a breath. "Okay. Garfield, do you know _anything_ that could help us?" Elliot asked. "Like what?" Garfield asked him in return. "Anything at all. Have there ever been any reports of encounters with other life forms encountered by Weyland-Yutani personnel at some point?" Elliot asked him.

Garfield raised an eyebrow at Elliot curiously. "Well... we've _occasionally_ found remains and artifacts near sights with Engineer technology," Garfield admitted vaguely. "Engineer?" Burns asked him. "It's... what we call the beings who made various ships and structures that we've discovered and reverse engineered," Garfield explained.

"Is that ship in the mine an Engineer ship?" Elliot asked him. Garfield closed his eyes with a sigh. " _Yes_. Yes, it's an Engineer vessel. Juggernaut class," Garfield admitted hesitantly, knowing that he was violating company policy by discussing this information with unauthorized personnel.

"What about the alien? Have other organisms like it been found before?" Burns asked him pointedly. Garfield looked away and bit his lower lip. "Well? _Garfield?_ " Burns asked him again, more aggressively this time. Garfield looked away and saw Bowman glaring at him.

"What are you hiding?" Bowman asked him. Garfield looked away from Bowman and back over at Burns and Elliot, both of whom were looking at him expectantly. "Dammit," Garfield muttered in frustration.

"Okay, I'll tell you what I know. But first, let's make sure that everyone is around to hear it. I don't wanna go over this twice," Garfield said. "I'll also need to get my laptop from the guest quarters. It has company files on it regarding the... organism," Garfield said.

Burns and Elliot glanced at each other before looking back at Garfield. "Alright. But I'm going with you," Elliot said. "Bowman, please escort Burns to either the recreation room or the operations center," he added as he shot a glance at Bowman. Bowman nodded his head in agreement.

"Can I have one of those ice packs or some temperature gel packs?" Burns asked the droid. "Oh, right. Just hold on," Elliot said as he walked over to a medical cabinet and retrieved a thermal gel pack, before going over to a small fridge and pulling out an ice pack from the freezer portion. He quickly strapped the gel packs around Burns's leg and gave her a crutch to help her walk before Bowman walked over and let her put an arm around him for balance.

The duo soon made their way out of the infirmary, before Elliot glared at Garfield and quietly marched over to him. "Garfield? How much information is on your laptop that you don't already know?" Elliot asked him. Garfield raised an eyebrow.

"Does it matter?" Garfield asked the droid. Elliot frowned and then shot his arms forward, grabbing Garfield by his shirt and hoisting him into the air, slamming him back up against the wall. "Yes, it fucking _matters!_ " Elliot hissed into Garfield's face. "If you know anything, _anything at all_ , that could have saved the others, you'd better hope it isn't on that laptop when you show us the files, because I swear I will break your fucking neck if I find out that you deliberately withheld vital information from us," Elliot added threateningly.

"Understand?" Elliot asked the man. Garfield nodded his head before Elliot let go of him. With shaky breaths, Garfield watched Elliot walked away with nervous eyes, before the droid glanced back at him. "Come on. We need to get your laptop."

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER...**

Gently placing his laptop on the flat metal table near the printer, Garfield pressed the power button and waited for the machine to boot up. He checked the charger and power cord before setting them on the empty space next to the laptop. Everyone had been called into the room, with the exception of Hansen. Hansen had elected to stay in the security center to monitor the remaining security cameras on level 03. He did, however, have the security systems set up so that he could listen in on what was being discussed in the operations center, along with a walkie-talkie system. One walkie-talkie was with him, and the other was in the operations center, as a precaution in case something were to happen to the intercom system.

Burns was sitting in a chair nearby, while Bowman was standing next to her. Everyone else was sitting in a chair or standing up around Garfield. "Okay, what are we here for again?" Rains asked curiously as Garfield's laptop finished booting up.

"Mister Garfield is going to tell us everything he knows about the alien," Elliot explained. "Um, what?" Milo asked in confusion. Burns glanced over at him. "He already knew about the creature before Eastman was attacked. He knew what would happen the whole time that thing was on Eastman's face, but he kept his mouth shut," Burns said coldly with a frown.

"You son of a bitch!" Torres spat angrily. "You knew the whole time!?" she yelled as she marched over and tried to attack Garfield. Rains quickly jogged over and pulled her back.

"Just... just hear me out!" Garfield pleaded as he accessed the hidden folder on the laptop's hard drive. "There we go," he said as he clicked on a folder that was labeled 'DEFINITELY NOT PORN'. Inside the folder were several other folders. Clicking on the one with three X's on it, Garfield opened the folder and clicked on another folder inside titled 'LIFE CYCLE'.

"Alright. Here we go," Garfield said nervously as he glanced around at the remaining administrative staff and lone miner that surrounded him. He clicked on the first file inside the LIFE CYCLE folder and opened it using a word processing program. "The alien is... it's called a Xenomorph," he said, trying to look anywhere but the faces of the people around him.

"Xeno...morph?" Green asked him. Garfield nodded his head with a sigh. "Yes. It's a Greek word meaning strange form. The official designation of the species is... Xenomorph XX-121," Garfield admitted reluctantly.

"And you knew that those things were in that ship before we even went inside, didn't you?" Green asked him. "I... _suspected_ that there could be some Xenomorph presence inside, but I had no way of confirming it," Garfield said. "At least... not until Eastman was attacked," he added.

"Why didn't you warn us?" Burns asked him. Garfield scoffed in response. "Warn you? Please, like you people would've believed me," he said. "Well, what about Bowman? Why didn't _he_ say anything?" Elliot asked him. "Hey, wait a minute!" Bowman protested.

"Bowman doesn't know _shit_ ," Garfield stated, glaring at Elliot. "What do you mean he doesn't know?" Elliot asked him suspiciously. "He's not high enough on the company ladder," Garfield explained simply.

"Alright, that's enough. I think it's time we returned our focus to the alien," Burns insisted as she glanced at the screen of the laptop. "How do we kill it? What are its weaknesses?" she asked Garfield.

"Your plan to attack it in the maintenance garage would've worked if the Xenomorph hadn't escaped," Garfield replied. "So, conventional weaponry _can_ kill it?" Burns asked him, for clarification. "Yes. But its blood makes that sort of solution very dangerous in an environment like this station," Garfield admitted.

"We already knew about its blood, Garfield. Are there any other weaknesses? How many times have these things been encountered in the past? How have others killed these things?" Burns asked him again. Garfield sighed and looked Burns in the eyes. "Fire seems to work rather well at deterring the Xenomorph, but since you've made it rather clear that using fire in this place is a bad idea, we obviously can't go that route," Garfield said.

"What about the airlock? Would it suffocate to death in space?" Elliot asked him. Garfield glanced over at the droid thoughtfully. "Well... according to most reports, no one's ever observed one after shooting it into space, so there's no data to confirm that. It could just as easily survive in a vacuum as it could die in one. I honestly don't know," Garfield said gloomily.

He noticed that everyone was looking at him skeptically. "Don't believe me? Look at files on the computer," he said, pointing at the laptop. Elliot walked over and accessed the device, minimizing the window with the life cycle report and opening one of the encounter reports. He slowly began scrolling through all of the reports, listening as Garfield continued answering everyone's questions.

"Garfield, just how smart are these things?" Burns asked Garfield. "It varies from specimen to specimen. Nearly all encounters have been different from each other and under different circumstances. We've never been able to capture a live one, however, so we've never been able to study one in captivity. All documented encounters make it clear that contact with the organism has always been done without prior knowledge of the creatures' existence. The company likes to keep this kind of information quiet and locked away from those without clearance," Garfield explained.

"Well, we don't _have_ clearance, but you're sharing this info with us," Green pointed out. "Yes, because there's no point in hiding anything anymore. Of course, if someone hadn't left the _damn doors_ to the medical lab _open_ , we could've killed this thing before it got larger," Garfield said angrily as he glared at Bowman.

"Hey, screw you, Garfield! I already said I was sorry! I didn't know what was going on! And I sure as hell didn't know anything about this xeno-whatsit or its lightning fast growth rate before now either," Bowman retorted angrily. "Cool it! _Both of you_ ," Burns snapped.

"Now, just how smart is this thing?" Burns asked him again. Garfield sighed and ruffled his hair with one hand. "I don't know. I already told you that it varies. Some specimens have shown to use stealthy hunting tactics and small displays of minor intelligence, while others have been reported as being totally animalistic, with no sense of strategy or displays of intelligent behavior of any kind," Garfield said.

"I mean, you yourself have already observed this thing opening and closing doors, right?" Garfield asked Burns. Burns quietly nodded her head in response. "And we know that it understands how to open the hatches in the maintenance shafts. So, I'd say that the Xenomorph we're dealing with right now is pretty damn smart," Garfield concluded.

"Do they all look the same?" Green asked him. "I mean, when this thing entered the mining lobby, I saw a smooth-looking dome or covering on its head, with no eyes. The fossil inside the ship had a ridged head. What's up with that?" Green asked him.

"I don't know. Like I said, every recorded encounter has been different. Some of these things have been recorded as being alive for nearly a week before being killed, while others have been alive for only a day before being killed. We've _never_ been able to capture one and study it in captivity," Garfield replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Burns asked him suspiciously. "To my personal knowledge? Yes, I am personally unaware of any incidents where these things have been studied in captivity for any extensive period of time. And I don't think that someone taking notes on another person being locked in an infirmary with a facehugger attached to them counts as being studied in captivity either," Garfield replied.

"What about its reproduction? We know that these things come from eggs, but where do the eggs come from?" Burns asked him. Garfield inhaled before looking her in the eyes. "I've never seen any reports that actually indicate the source of the eggs found in each encounter. However, inside that ship, you guys saw what looked like an Engineer being cocooned or something on the wall of that room, right?" Garfield asked her.

"Yeah. One of them was cocooned as though they were stuck in some kind of webbing or resin, but the other one... looked like it was mostly inside of an egg, or a partially... developed one," Burns said in realization. "That's how it reproduces," she concluded in horror.

"Whoever it kills gets turned into an egg, and whoever it captures alive... gets to be the host for whatever comes out of the egg," she said. "Well, congratulations. You've just won a prize," Garfield said sarcastically.

"Where do they come from?" Milo asked him. "Huh?" Garfield asked in response, caught off guard. "The... xeno...morphs? Where do they come from?" Milo asked again. "Didn't we just figure that out?" Rains asked, having paid attention to Burns and Garfield. "That's not what I mean. I mean, where do these things _come from?_ Are they a science experiment, or some natural thing taken from their home planet somewhere?" Milo clarified.

"I don't know," Garfield said. "They're an extremely old species; I can tell you that much. But even though we usually only find them near Engineer structures or vessels, we still don't know if they were something that the Engineers created themselves or if the Xenomorph is a natural life form that the Engineers found somewhere. It could be both, for all we know," Garfield replied.

"Both?" Torres asked him. "Sure. I mean, they could be an animal that the Engineers found on some distant planet and then modified through genetic engineering. But, like I said, I don't know. No one really knows," Garfield said with a snort. "At least, no one currently alive," he added as an afterthought.

 **THE SECURITY CENTER**

Mick Hansen listened to the discussion being held in the operations center on one of the cameras. He quickly glanced back over at the set of monitors displaying the video feed for Level 03, and saw that another one had gone dark, with an error message on the screen. Checking the camera next on the line in that area, Hansen saw the biomechanical monstrosity that was the alien as it approached the camera.

The creature was crawling on the wall as it approached the camera in a slow and methodical fashion. Hansen watched in both fascination and fear as the creature moved closer to the camera, before reaching a six-fingered hand forward and grabbing at the device. The creature's hand covered the screen. The hand soon moved away and the creature's face was now in front of it. The footage soon became jerky as the creature did something with its hand behind the camera, and then Hansen saw the screen go dark before an error message was displayed.

Hansen slowly shook his head in disbelief as he realized what was happening. "No. This is _not_ good. This is not good _at all_ ," he muttered before he grabbed a radio sitting on the table behind him.

 **BACK IN THE OPERATIONS CENTER...**

" _Guys?_ " Hansen asked over the walkie-talkie on the table. "Yes, Hansen. What is it?" Burns asked as she grabbed the hand-held radio. " _I'm starting to lose more cameras on level three,_ " Hansen reported.

"Are you sure?" Burns asked him incredulously. " _Look, I'm positive. The alien is taking them out one by one. We're not gonna have_ _ **any**_ _video on that floor soon. Either you guys need to come up with a plan to kill it before it gets all of the cameras, or you're gonna have to find another way to get into that level, because without any cameras watching the elevators, I won't be able to tell which ones it's waiting at,_ " Hansen replied.

"Hansen, this is Burns. Just keep monitoring the cameras and keep us updated. We're gonna start working on another plan soon. We'll keep you posted. Burns out," Burns said into the walkie-talkie before setting it down on the table.

" _Understood, Burns. But you'd better hurry. At the rate this thing is going, we're gonna be blind on Level Three in less than an hour. Hansen out,_ " Hansen said over the walkie-talkie.

"Shit!" Burns then hissed angrily. "We should've stayed down there when we had the chance," she added bitterly. "W-What?" Bowman asked her incredulously. "We should have... stay-are you out of your fucking mind!? I mean, have you already _forgotten_ what happened to Brown!?" he asked her.

"Bowman, if we had stayed down there, then we wouldn't have to worry about this thing waiting in front of an elevator without cameras to watch for it. Now it could be waiting outside of any of them and we'd have no idea when we go back down," Burns explained. Elliot and Garfield both silently nodded their heads in agreement with Burns' statement, while everyone else was rather... skeptical.

"This is horse shit," Milo muttered under his breath.

"Amen," Rains said in agreement.

"Hold on. What do you mean ' _when_ we go back down'?" Green asked her. Burns looked at him sternly. "We have to go back down there at some point. We have to kill it," Burns replied.

"Burns, come on! Haven't we lost enough people already!?" Torres asked her. "If we _don't_ kill it, then we're going to lose a lot more," Burns retorted firmly, glaring at Torres. "Burns, we can't keep trying the same plan over and over again," Elliot said.

"Well I don't hear anyone else coming up with a better idea," Burns said. "Uh, okay," Martin said, "I have an idea." Everyone turned to look at Martin. "Alright, let's hear it," Burns said.

"I say we call for military support. There's a military base posted on the colony of Dalia, full of Marines or Army personnel. We call them to come up here and help, and we just stay out of the way," Martin said. "No one else needs to die. Let the military handle this," Martin continued.

"Okay, but what do we do in the meantime?" Burns asked him. "What do you mean? It's trapped down there on Level Three. As long as we keep the elevators locked down and the dead bolt in the maintenance shaft is left in place, we're fine. We can just wait it out," Martin replied.

"And what about when the rest of the miners return from Dalia? What if the military doesn't get here before they do? They're going to dock on Level Three, Martin. That's where the docking pad is located. That's where the secondary shuttle is going to dock when they return," Burns pointed out. "They have no idea what's going on, and that thing will tear into them the moment those bay doors are sealed," Burns said.

"We can't let it roam free. We _have to kill it_ ," Burns stated firmly. "Alright, we have to kill it. But can't we at least get some better weaponry in here first? Can't we call the military?" Martin asked her in response.

"Please, like they'll believe us," Garfield muttered. "Show them the data on this computer and they might," Elliot said. Garfield turned to look at him incredulously. "That's not public information, Elliot! That shit is _classified!_ " Garfield protested. "Then why the hell did you share it with us!?" Rains asked him.

"Because you already know about the damn thing! Besides, if we tell the military, then they'll try to contact someone else working for the company. This information isn't shared freely, not even among our own employees! There won't be anyone to vouch for this, and anyone who _does_ know will keep their mouth shut about it," Garfield explained.

"You know, considering how catastrophic each recorded encounter has been, I'm surprised that Weyland-Yutani isn't more cautious when sending people out to investigate Engineer technology, especially since, as you've said, where there's Engineer tech, there tend to be xenomorphs," Elliot said. "I don't quite think you understand the stupidity generated by corporate greed," Garfield said condescendingly. "Right, well since you're such an _expert_ on stupidity and corporate greed, why don't you explain it to us?" Elliot suggested in response, smirking at Garfield.

"Oh, wait. I think we _already_ have a perfect demonstration of it _right here and now_ ," Elliot spat as he glared at Garfield. "Yeah, and even if I hadn't insisted on checking out the interior of the ship, someone would've found the eggs eventually," Garfield retorted. "A Xenomorph was going to be born from that ship at some point, Elliot! An incident was _going to occur_ after this ship's discovery, no matter how long it took," Garfield added.

"Then your knowledge on this matter should allow you to come up with a plan to defeat this particular Xenomorph," Elliot replied. "Well... I think we've already gone over this," Garfield said. "Yes, we have. So, our options are to either stay holed up on levels two and one, tell the other shuttle to turn around, or find some way to kill this creature before time runs out," Elliot said.

"That sounds about right," Burns chimed in. "So, given what we've seen from inside that ship, we know that this thing will probably cocoon some of its victims while transforming others into eggs to create more parasites, right?" she said, glancing at Garfield and Elliot. "Well, the thing is that no one has ever really bothered to find out just where the eggs come from in prior encounters," Garfield admitted.

"But _we_ just figured it out, didn't we?" Burns asked him. "Maybe for this particular breed. I mean, all previous Xenomorph specimens have been described as sharing a dark singular color scheme, like gray or dark brown, or black. This one... Green, you said that it was black with yellow stripes, right?" Garfield asked the sole remaining miner. "Uh, yeah. Like a giant bee or something," Green replied.

"That's never been described before," Garfield stated. "And Burns, you've already told us about the behavior it displayed earlier, right?" Garfield asked the woman. "Yeah. It waited until we had begun closing the doors on the elevator before moving in on us, and Brown... it wasn't a wild animal. A wild animal doesn't know how to open and close doors. And a wild animal _definitely_ doesn't grab doors and repeatedly slam them into someone's sides like that," Burns said somberly.

"And now we have Hansen telling us that it's _deliberately_ going after the security cameras on that level," Bowman said, adding his two cents. "So... if we try to kill it again, we can't use the elevators. It could easily wait outside any one of them and ambush us," Garfield said.

"I'm pretty sure I already made that clear a few minutes ago," Burns said pointedly. "Right," Garfield said in acknowledgement, nodding his head. "So, what do we do?" Green asked them.

"To hell with it," Martin said. "Let's just grab the other shuttle or get in the tractor and make our way to Station Five," he continued. "I'll send a message to the other shuttle and tell them set down at Station Five and then we can let the military handle this," Martin said.

"John, the shuttle is still docked in the maintenance garage," Burns said. "What about the tractor?" he asked her in response. "It's in the vehicle garage. Both of those garages are on level three... where the alien is roaming around," Burns said.

"Oh... right," Martin said, hanging his head in defeat. "Well, what else can we do?" Torres asked. "I mean, we can't keep fighting this thing. Every time we try to go after it, people keep dying. We've already lost eight people. We can't fight it any longer. We outnumber it right now, but if we keep proceeding with a futile plan, we're all gonna die," Torres said.

"Anna, you heard Burns. The shuttle and the tractor are _both_ down on level three. We can't get to either of them without the risk of running into that thing," Rains said. "Well, we can call someone for help!" Torres replied. "We can call someone from Station Five to send some more security officers. They have a Colonial Marshal over there. They can send him and some other officers over here with guns and they can help us take care of this thing," Torres suggested.

"Wait... Martin, can you call the USCSS Benthic?" Garfield asked. "Who?" Elliot asked him. "The Benthic. That's the ship that brought us here. It should still be docked with the Malvo supply station," Garfield said.

"Do they have weapons that we can use against this thing?" Torres asked him. "I don't think so, but we can call them to land outside of the station. We can put on some pressure suits and leave through an airlock to go meet up with them," Garfield said eagerly.

"An airlock... Garfield, you've just given me an idea," Burns said. Garfield looked at Burns quizzically. "I... what?" he asked her, confused. "That's how we'll re-enter level three. We'll exit an airlock on this level and then we'll enter from the E-Section airlock on level three," Burns explained.

"You... You're _still_ trying to kill that thing?" Milo asked her incredulously. "Guys, if this thing has cocooned people and is turning others into eggs, then we need to find them. If we don't find its nest, then we're gonna have _more_ of these things running around. We can't abandon the station yet," Burns said firmly. "We have to kill the alien and destroy its nest. If Marcus and the others are still alive, then we can rescue them. And... we'll have to destroy the others if they've begun turning into eggs," she added.

"Burns, that's _suicide_ ," Milo protested. "No, she's right," Rains said. "If this thing can reproduce by turning its victims into eggs for more parasites, then the people that it's captured are gonna end up just like Eastman, and we'll have more aliens running around. We have to find this thing's nest and destroy any developing eggs, in addition to killing the fucker itself," Rains said.

Rains glanced over at Burns, who nodded her head at him gratefully. "If we wait around and do nothing, then we're gonna have more aliens to deal with eventually. If we run away, then someone else, someone with _no knowledge_ of this creature and its abilities, will have to deal with it," Burns said. "We have to kill it and destroy its nest," she reiterated.

"What about the ship? Even if we kill the alien and destroy whatever nest it's set up in the station, that ship still has dozens of eggs in it. What do we do about those?" Elliot asked.

"We take whatever weapons we can find and we destroy them. We destroy each and every egg we can find in that ship," Burns said firmly. "So, the first order of business is killing the alien. We'll proceed with the original plan to lure it into the maintenance garage, where we'll kill it with shotguns loaded with metal slugs," Burns said.

"Burns, we've already tried that and it didn't work! You said yourself that this thing is smarter than we expected. What if it remembers what happened the last time it went in there and just turns around?" Milo asked her.

"We'll have somebody waiting to push it into the garage. If it tries to back away, two people will flank it from both sides, using tasers, and force it into the garage," Burns replied. Bowman coughed to get her attention. "Uh, Burns? This thing has a tendency to grab our tasers and play tug-of-war. That may not work," Bowman said.

"Well it's what I've got," Burns retorted.

Everyone was silent for the next few minutes as they thought about Burns' plan. "Alright," Elliot said. "Let's do it."

"You actually wanna go through with this suicide mission!?" Torres asked him in disbelief. Elliot turned to look at her. "Burns is right. We have to kill this thing and destroy its nest. Otherwise, this thing will spread, and more people will die," Elliot said.

"Okay, so, who wants to be the one to lure the alien into the maintenance garage?" Milo asked nervously. "I'll do it again," Burns said. "No," Garfield objected.

"Excuse me?" Burns asked him.

"I said no, Burns. You won't be able to outrun this thing with your leg injury," Garfield pointed out to her. "Well then who else is gonna do it?" Burns asked him snappily.

"Considering how dangerous this plan is, I'll do it in your stead," Elliot said.

"No. _I'll_ do it," Garfield said in objection once more. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised that he would volunteer. "Garfield, are you serious?" Bowman asked him.

"Honestly, I'd rather not. But... I _am_ partially responsible for this mess. If anyone's gonna risk their safety to lure this thing into the trap, it ought to be me," Garfield replied, bewildered at his own words. "And besides, Elliot here is an android. There's no guarantee that the Xenomorph will even care to go after him if it realizes that it can't use him for anything," Garfield added.

Elliot looked at Garfield curiously. "What makes you say that?" the droid asked the corporate suit. "Well, think about it. It can't use you as a host for more parasites, and you can't exactly be used for food either. Unless you directly antagonize this thing, it'll probably leave you alone," Garfield said.

"Wait, Elliot is a former sexaroid. His body is designed to be as human as possible," Burns pointed out. "True, but he's still a machine. He's useless to the Xenomorph, which is why he'll be the person who pushes the alien back into the maintenance garage if it tries to escape," Garfield explained.

"Well, I... see your point," Elliot said, slightly annoyed. "Alright. I'll wait outside the doors with a taser and push it back into the garage if it tries to get away. However, we have to avoid what happened to Brooks," Elliot said. "We need to retrieve some body armor," he added before grabbing the walkie-talkie from the table.

"Hansen, this is Elliot. We've decided to proceed with Burns's plan again. Can you retrieve some body armor from the security center for us?" Elliot asked. " _Um, body armor? Yeah. Yeah, I'll see what I can find. But, uh... look, we only have four cameras left on level three, and none of them are near the elevators. I don't know how you're gonna figure out which ones are safe to use,_ " Hansen replied.

"We're gonna use the airlocks," Elliot said. " _The airlocks? Okay. I've got one functioning camera near the Section-E airlock on Level Three. That's one of only four cameras that haven't been taken out yet. So, I'd get moving if I were you. I have no way of tracking the alien now, so I don't know where it is at this point. I'll keep monitoring the remaining four cameras, but don't bet on them staying intact for much longer. Hansen out_ ," Hansen said over the walkie talkie.

Elliot set the walkie talkie back down on the table and looked around. "Alright, people. We only have four cameras left on Level Three, and they might not be there much longer. Let's get started," Elliot said. With some reluctance, everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that was chapter ten. It isn't a very action-packed chapter, but I will certainly make up for that in the next chapter. As you can all finally see, Yellow Bill is a much more anthropomorphic Xenomorph than what has been seen in movies. Now, I won't lie, I have certainly read various Alien fan fiction with much more anthropomorphic aliens in them, even though those were all found on the now (sadly) defunct Planet AVP and The Alien Experience websites. Planet AVP had some of the funniest Alien vs. Predator stories I've ever read, especially the ones written by Shoot Me I'm Dumb. Seriously, that was the writer's pen name, and his take on AVP: Extinction was one of the funniest fan stories I've ever laid eyes on. Too bad it's no longer accessible.

Of course, the aliens in those stories were all given thoughts and feelings and could talk in those stories. I am not doing that. Yellow Bill, despite its anthropomorphism, is still a deadly bio-engineered killing machine, with no remorse or any sense of morality. It plays with its food and torments it for fun.

Kane's Son, or Big Chap, from the original ALIEN, was a murderous rape monster. Yellow Bill, on the other hand, is a sadistic murderer. It gets a thrill from scaring its prey before killing them or capturing them. It has a degree of intelligence, but nothing that would put it on the same level as a primate or a dolphin. Its intelligence is more like that of a dog or a cat, or perhaps an alligator.

I also already have Yellow Bill's death planned out for the final chapter. The question is, how do you, the readers, think it will die, and who among the humans will actually survive through to the end?

Anyway, be sure to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	11. MURPHY'S LAW

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11: MURPHY'S LAW**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 19th, 2137**

 **TAROS STATION #04, LEVEL 02, SECTION 02-E AIRLOCK**

Stepping into the EVA suit, Marvin Garfield silently asked himself just what the hell he was doing. Garfield glanced over and saw Elliot and Milo also suiting up. Rains was already in his EVA suit and was waiting for the others to finish. Burns and Bowman were standing by the open lockers holding onto the weapons and motion tracker for the group. Standing near the airlock's manual controls was Green.

After Garfield and the others were finally suited up, Burns and Bowman gave them their weapons and motion tracker. "You guys watch yourselves down there," Burns said. "Don't worry about _that_ ," Rains said as he opened the inner airlock doors.

The four men quickly gathered into the airlock before Burns closed the inner doors and began the air recovery system, pulling as much air as possible back into specialized vacuum containers inside the ventilation ducts lining the airlock before the outer airlock doors opened. Burns let out a sigh as she looked over at Bowman, who was also leaning back against the wall opposite of her. "So... think they'll... you know, make it?" he asked her hesitantly. Burns furrowed her brows in thought before closing her eyes.

* * *

As the outer airlock doors opened, the four men activated the magnetic grips on the bottom of their boots before stepping forward. Whatever air hadn't been recovered by the vent system was quickly flushed out into space, allowing for the briefest sound of wind blowing against the EVA suits and the open-air elevator platform in front of them before everything became silent. The four men stepped forward, holding their motion tracker and guns in their gloved hands.

Garfield looked out across the almost barren landscape of Taros as he saw a small set of solar panels set up less than a kilometer away from the station, with cables running from the panels over to a large shed that was connected to the station on the ground. Farther ahead, Garfield saw Station #05, which appeared as a small dot to his eyes given the vast distance between the two facilities. Garfield then looked around at the elevator platform and the outside of the station. Situated next to the elevator platform in front of him were a ladder and a metal fire escape hugging the side of the station. "You know, I've been wondering," Garfield said over the helmet radio.

"Yeah?" Rains asked him as he stepped onto the platform. "Why is the ground level called the third level? Shouldn't it be the first level?" Garfield asked curiously. Rains looked at Garfield curiously before a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Huh. You know, in all the time that I've worked here, I've never once thought about that," Rains admitted.

"Neither have I," Milo said over his suit's radio. "I have, but I could never find the time to ask anyone about it before now," Elliot said over the radio. "Bullshit, dude. You're the second-in-command of this place. You can ask anyone that question whenever the hell you feel like it," Milo proclaimed as he followed Elliot onto the platform.

Once all four men had gathered together, Rains reached over and accessed the control panel, pulling a level and turning a knob before pressing a button to cause the elevator platform to slowly descend to the ground. All four men gripped the safety rails of the platform as they descended, letting go only after the lights on the control panel switched from red to green. Walking forward, Elliot pressed himself against the outer airlock doors and peered inside.

"I don't see anything in there," Elliot said over the radio. Stepping to the side, the droid reached over and accessed the control panel next to the right side of the doors. He performed a brief safety check to make sure that the inner airlock doors were still closed before opening the outer doors, causing a brief burst of air to exit the station. The four men soon walked inside the airlock and closed the outer doors.

The red LEDs above the doors began to blink as the doors locked, and then air began entering the room. Soon, there was a buckling noise. "What was that?" Garfield asked worriedly as he glanced around the inside of the airlock.

"That's just the pressure system adjusting itself to the change in atmosphere again. It's supposed to do that," Rains said reassuringly. Garfield slowly nodded his head in understanding, although he was still wary.

As several more minutes passed by, the four men took turns looking out the relatively small airlock windows to check the small lobby area for signs of the alien. "Is it out there?" Milo asked Rains as he finished checking the room. "I don't see it anywhere. Just keep that shotgun ready, though," Rains replied as he held his own shotgun in his gloved hands.

When the re-pressurization was finished, the airlock doors slid open and revealed an empty room to the four men. Slowly walking forward, Elliot gave the motion tracker to Garfield before he began taking off his EVA suit first, signaling for the others to wait, just in case. After he was finally free of the suit, he gestured for Garfield to return the motion tracker to him. Garfield then began taking off his EVA suit next, followed by Rains, and then by Milo.

Tapping the headset on his head, Elliot looked at the still-intact security camera on the wall in the corner of the room. "Hansen, have any other security cameras been destroyed since we exited the airlock?" Elliot asked. " _Negative. I still have four cameras left. One of them is in the maintenance garage, another one is in the shuttle bay next to the maintenance garage, and the last one is in the vehicle garage. Those are all I've got left, and I've seen no signs of the alien on any of them for the past two hours. I have no idea where it is right now, so tread carefully. Hansen out,_ " Hansen replied over the headset.

"Understood. Elliot out," Elliot said into the headset. Setting their EVA suits on racks, the four men slowly began making their way out of the small lobby of the airlock, setting up the motion tracker before slowly stepping forward into the dark hallway in front of them. Elliot went first, holding the motion tracker, while Rains went behind him, carrying a shotgun, quickly turning on the flashlight attached to it.

"What happened to the lights?" Milo asked as they entered the hallway. "We shut them off, remember?" Rains responded quietly. Milo went over to a light switch and flipped it, illuminating the hallway.

The other three men all glanced at Milo before returning their attention to the hallway in front of them. They slowly moved forward, one foot at a time, with Elliot glancing down at the motion tracker every few feet. The screen was blank and the machine was quiet, with only a faint pulsing hum emanating from the device as it scanned for movement.

After fifteen minutes, the group came upon a corridor with an open door on the side. It was a storage closet, with various boxes of supplies sitting around the room. The four men looked at each other curiously. "Should we... should we inspect it?" Milo asked cautiously.

Elliot moved over to the doorway and inspected the controls, seeing traces of something wet and slimy on the wall. "It's been in this area," Elliot noted out loud. "Recently?" Milo asked him as he looked at the slime on the wall.

"Hard to say," Elliot responded as he looked around the interior of the storage room. "Let's keep moving," he finally said before reaching for the door's controls. He glanced down at the motion tracker before pulling his hand back.

"I wonder..." he muttered quietly to himself before walking away from the door. The four men resumed their slow and methodical trek to the maintenance garage, soon happening upon an intersection for sections 03-E, 03-D, and 03-C. "We'll take Section C, and that should lead us to an intersection near section Three-A that we can use to get to the maintenance garage," Elliot said.

The others nodded their heads in agreement as Elliot began leading them through Section 03-C, carefully monitoring the motion tracker each step of the way.

After another half hour of walking, the four men finally reached the maintenance garage. Opening the doors and stepping inside, the four men began setting up their cover and weapons. "Move those crates a little further from the doorway," Elliot said as Rains and Milo pushed said crates back another two feet.

Looking around the room, Garfield noticed a blood stain on the floor near the crates. "Hey, didn't Burns say that Brooks was killed in here earlier?" Garfield asked out loud. Rains, Milo, and Elliot stopped moving the crates and looked at him.

"Yeah, why?" Milo asked him in response. "Where's the body?" Garfield asked. The men all looked around the room, scanning for signs of Brooks' corpse.

"It's not here anymore," Elliot said after a minute of searching. "The alien must've taken his body," Rains concluded. "Why?" Milo asked him. "Milo, haven't you been paying any attention?" Rains asked the fellow engineer.

Garfield followed the trail of blood on the floor, seeing it lead back to the doorway. "Well, assuming that it's using the bodies for producing more eggs, then following this trail should lead us to the nest," Garfield surmised. Elliot glanced at Garfield and nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright then. Elliot if you join me in the halls, would you be willing to find the nest while I lead the alien back here so that Milo and Rains can kill it?" Garfield asked the droid. "I'd like to follow the alien back here so that it can't escape before we go searching for the nest," Elliot replied.

Milo and Rains both nodded their heads. "Yeah, I think we'd better stick with the plan," Milo said in agreement. "Let's not make things more difficult for ourselves. Things have already gone pretty wrong for us. Let's not make the situation worse by thinning our numbers when we don't have to," Rains added.

"Right," Garfield said, nodding his head in understanding.

"Come on. Let's finish setting up our cover. I don't this thing's blood hitting me when we shoot it," Rains said as he and Milo resumed re-arranging the crates on both sides of the doorway. Elliot and Garfield helped them gather some sheet metal to place in front of the crates as well, with Garfield periodically checking their motion tracker and glancing at the doorway every few minutes.

* * *

 **THE SECURITY CENTER...**

Trent Bowman glanced over his shoulder at Burns, who was resting in a chair next to a table in the center of the room. Hansen had left the room a few minutes earlier to use one of the bathrooms on Level 01, and so Bowman and Burns had volunteered to stay in the room until he returned. Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, Bowman looked out again at the security monitors for the remaining four cameras on Level 03.

* * *

 **LEVEL 03...**

Carefully peering around a corner, Garfield held his flashlight and wrench close to his body, glancing at the various signs on the walls and forcing himself to memorize his path from the maintenance garage. Elliot stood a foot behind him, holding the motion tracker steady. Seeing that the corridor was empty, Garfield stepped forward, glancing down at the thinning trail of blood on the floor.

The two men slowly made their way over to the entrance to the miners' quarters, stopping just outside the doorway to the room. Shining his flashlight into the large room, Garfield glanced up at the ceiling and the walls, searching for signs of the alien before slowly creeping into the room, one foot at a time. Garfield briefly stopped walking to glance over his shoulder at Elliot and the motion tracker before continuing onward, heading towards the door that led to the locker room.

The door to the locker room slid open with a hiss, setting the motion tracker off. Both men stopped moving and glanced around their surroundings before the motion tracker went silent once more. "Let's keep moving," Garfield said before he stepped into the locker room.

The lockers were spread out in 4 columns in the room. There were a total of 60 lockers, twice the number of miners employed in the station. Each column was dual-facing, with the lockers arranged in a checkered pattern so that the the space next to one locker was the back of another facing the opposite direction. There were benches on each side of every locker column.

Looking down at the floor, Garfield soon noticed that the blood trail had become almost non-existent. "The trail's almost gone," he said before looking up at the ceiling of the room. The room was much smaller in height when compared to the room housing the miners' quarters, in addition to being somewhat more cramped as well.

Over on the far side of the locker room, Garfield saw set of sliding doors. "That's... that's the, um... that's the... shower room, right?" Garfield asked Elliot. Elliot looked up from the motion tracker and glanced at Garfield curiously. Garfield held one hand forward, pointing his flashlight at the sliding doors ahead of them.

"Yeah. That's the shower room," Elliot said, nodding his head in confirmation. Garfield slowly nodded his head in response before quietly moving forward, walking around the various lockers and benches to scour the room, with Elliot moving to the left side. As Garfield made his way around the perimeter, he saw a few lockers that were slightly ajar.

Carefully creeping over to one, he gently pulled it open, shining his flashlight inside. There were pictures of naked women taped to the inside of the locker, along with some tissue boxes and a plastic bag with some stains on it. Closing the locker door, Garfield opened the next one. This locker had pictures of naked men taped to the inside, and there were two vibrators and a bright blue dildo sealed inside a zip-lock bag, along with lubricant and cleaning supplies. Garfield quietly closed the locker door and prepared to open the next one, before shaking his head and ignoring it. He had more important things to think about at the moment.

He made his way around the rest of the lockers, soon meeting up with Elliot. "Find anything?" Elliot asked him. "Um... nothing important," Garfield answered. Elliot smirked at him. "People have needs, Garfield. They're only human, after all," Elliot said knowingly. Garfield nodded his head quietly in response.

"Alright, let's see what the shower room has in store for us. Shall we?" Elliot implored, carefully reaching out and pressing the button to open the doors to the shower room. The doors to the room slid open, once again setting off the motion tracker. "Stupid tracker," Garfield muttered in contempt for the device.

In front of the two men, there was a short wall several feet back from the door. "Wait... this is a co-ed shower room, isn't it?" Garfield asked as he failed to see any signs for men or women on any side of the walls. "Of course," Elliot replied.

"These men and women work together for a living. Why wouldn't they bathe and dress together?" Elliot asked.

Garfield ignored Elliot's question and slowly pressed forward, walking around to the side of the wall and carefully peering over a corner. When Garfield saw what was hidden behind the wall, he almost dropped his wrench and flashlight. " _Elliot!_ " Garfield whispered urgently, catching the droid's attention.

" _What is it? Do you see it?_ " Elliot asked Garfield in a whisper as he carefully crept up behind him. " _No. Look_ ," Garfield replied as he pointed his flashlight at the sight before them. Elliot looked over Garfield's shoulder and saw what had alarmed him.

The first few shower stalls on either side of the room near the wall were clean and empty, but beyond them, the room became twisted and unnatural. A secreted resin had taken over much of the walls and shower stalls, covering the floor and parts of the ceiling. The resin had a biomechanical look to it, organic when industrial at the same time.

Shining his flashlight around the room, Garfield illuminated the horrific sight of what appeared to be a developing egg, with small patches of hair near the top, indicating that it had once been Vincent Hoffman, whose body was being used as a source of nutrients for the egg. Cocooned to the wall nearby, Samantha Goodwin was also in the process of being absorbed by a developing egg, with her head and right arm sticking out of the object. Garfield and Elliot could just make out the bloodied hole in the corpse's forehead.

Shining the light further around the room, the two men saw a cocooned Kendricks, unconscious, but possibly alive. It was hard to be sure, as the resin covered most of his body and made it difficult to see any chest movement. Looking around further, the two men saw the corpse of Ryan Brown in the beginning stages of egg development. His cocooned body had been positioned in a fetal manner by the alien so that the developing egg would fit around him.

Garfield quickly tapped his headset. " _Hansen, can you hear me? This is Garfield. Hansen, come in!_ " Garfield whispered into the headset, before he saw a cocooned Fred Marcus on the wall. He also appeared to be unconscious as various slime and fluids covered him and dripped down from the "ceiling" of the room.

" _This is Burns. Hansen is on the shitter right now. What do you need?_ " Burns asked over the headset, having been woken up by Bowman seconds earlier. "We... we found the nest," Garfield said carefully as he looked around, soon eyeing the body of Carl Brooks, also in the early stages of egg development as his corpse was propped up against a shower stall door while sitting on the floor.

" _You... you found it? Have you found Marcus and Hoffman in there?_ " Burns asked over the headset. "Yeah. We... we found _everyone_ ," Garfield said with a gulp. " _Are they alive?_ " Burns asked him.

"I... I think Marcus and Kendricks are alive. The others... they're all dead. And... you were right, Burns. They're being converted into eggs. One of them is almost finished. I think it was Hoffman," Garfield choked out, fear and anxiety beginning to overwhelm him. He could feel his heart beginning to pound in his chest as he saw how close the Hoffman-Egg was to being finished, at least on the outside.

" _Okay, where exactly is the nest located? What section?_ " Burns asked him. "We're... in the shower room. It's converted the shower room into its nest," Garfield explained as he looked around at the twisted landscape. " _Jesus Christ,_ " Burns muttered over the headset.

Stepping around Garfield, Elliot slowly moved forward to inspect the nest closer. "So, what should- _hey, Elliot! Get back here!_ " Garfield hissed at the droid. Elliot turned around and set the motion tracker on the floor before grabbing the wrench from Garfield. "Hey, what are you-" "Shh. I'm going to rescue Marcus and Kendricks. You just keep an eye on the motion tracker for me," Elliot said abruptly.

"Well, shit. I'm joining you," Garfield said after a minute. He and the droid both began walking over towards the cocooned Marcus and Kendricks. " _Garfield? What's going on? What's happening?_ " Burns asked over the headset. "Elliot and I are going to see if we can get Marcus and Kendricks out of here," Garfield replied, once again bewildered at the words leaving his mouth.

" _Wait, what about the plan? You need to lure the alien into the maintenance garage and kill it before we do anything else!_ " Burns snapped over the headset. "Burns, these eggs could be be ripe by then. We have to get Marcus and Kendricks out of here _before_ that happens," Garfield replied.

" _Rrgg! Alright, but keep your eyes peeled, and if that thing finds you, make sure to lead it to the maintenance garage. If you encounter the alien, go back to the plan and lead it into the trap,_ " Burns said firmly. "I will. Just... just let me try to make things right. Garfield out," Garfield said softly before tapping the headset.

Walking up to the cocooned Marcus, Garfield gently set down the motion tracker and reached up to pat the man's face. "Marcus? Marcus, can you hear me?" Garfield asked. Marcus slowly began to stir, wheezing and moaning uncomfortably before his eyes fluttered open.

"Uh? Huh?" Marcus asked groggily as he looked around. Marcus glanced over to his right and looked at the Hoffman-Egg, grimacing in realization of his fate before he noticed Garfield and Elliot. "E-Elliot? Garfield?" Marcus asked, confused by their presence.

"W-What are you doing here?" Marcus asked them. "We're, uh, looking for the alien," Garfield replied. Marcus tilted his head and looked at him quizzically. "We're gonna lead it into a trap. We figure the maintenance garage has thick enough floors to withstand this thing's blood, so Milo and Rains are waiting in there with shotguns loaded with metal slugs. We're gonna lure the bastard into the garage, and then Milo and Rains are gonna fill it full of holes," Garfield explained.

"Then don't waste your time with me," Marcus said tiredly. "No way. We've found you, and we don't know how long it'll take before that egg over there-wait, was that... _Hoffman?_ " Garfield asked as he took a closer look at the developing egg. "It _was_ ," Marcus replied somberly, glancing at the Hoffman-Egg with an expression of dismay on his face.

"As I was saying, we don't know how long we have before that thing is done growing. By the time we get back, that thing could hatch, and you'll be a host for another facehugger," Garfield said as he grabbed at the resin covering Marcus's arms and pulled at it. "Come on! Break," Garfield grumbled as he tugged against the resin.

BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP...

Marcus looked around before seeing the motion tracker on the floor, listening to the beeps as they got louder and closer together. "Uh... guys?" Marcus asked in alarm. "Just hold on," Garfield grunted as he kept tugging at the resin. A small fracture had begun to form in part of the resin he was pulling back.

BEEP... ... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

Garfield and Elliot both stopped what they were doing as they turned around to glance at the motion tracker on the floor. Elliot walked over and picked it up, seeing a blinking white dot moving closer to their position. "Garfield... hide," Elliot said as he looked at the wall near the entrance of the shower room.

BEEP... ... BEEP... ... BEEP...

BEEP... ... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Garfield picked up his flashlight and slowly watched the corners of the wall by the entrance waiting to see which side the alien would appear behind.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

"Where is it?" Garfield asked as the beeping continued, until he heard something above him. Glancing up at the ceiling, Garfield and Elliot saw the smooth dome of Yellow Bill as it pulled itself out of a maintenance duct. The two men stepped back as the creature crawled along the ceiling, before it finally let go with its front limbs and lowered itself down to the floor, hands first.

Yellow Bill was soon crouched on all fours, its tail being the last appendage to reach the floor, before it slowly began to stand up. The eyeless beast faced its domed head towards Garfield and Elliot before slowly curling its lips to reveal it metallic teeth. Elliot glared at the alien and stepped in front of Garfield.

" _Slowly, make your way to the wall. When I give the signal, run like hell back to the garage,_ " Elliot whispered to Garfield. Garfield quickly nodded his head as he stood behind the droid.

As Yellow Bill stood up to its full height, it slowly walked forward, one foot at a time until it was face to face with Elliot. It could detect the pheromones of the prey hiding behind the figure in front of it, but the figure in front of it, which looked and sounded like its prey, had no pheromones. Yellow Bill tilted its head and closed its lips, confused by this development.

Garfield slowly began to inch himself away from Elliot, keeping his eyes on the alien as he backed away, making as little noise as possible. Elliot kept perfectly still as he glared at the alien, standing up straight and broadening his shoulders as much as possible to intimidate it. Because he was still shorter than the alien, this had very little effect.

Yellow Bill leaned forward to sniff Elliot using its almost imperceptible nostrils and other sensory organs lining its head. The image that was projected back into its brain and collection of cognitive organs was that of prey that did not feel like prey. This was confusing to Yellow Bill, and warranted further investigation as it reached a hand out and grasped it around the front of Elliot's head.

Elliot made no response, and his lack of pheromone reaction caused the alien to let go of him and back away, turning to look at Garfield as he tried to slowly sneak away. Yellow Bill hissed at the man, causing his pheromone levels to jump as he became frightened and surprised. Yellow Bill had found prey that it was familiar with now, and its lips curled up into a smile as it slowly stepped forward, drawing out Garfield's fear and anxiety as much as possible.

"Garfield... _RUN!_ " Elliot snapped, causing Garfield to sprint forward, dashing towards the wall as quickly as possible. Yellow Bill quickly followed him, leaping onto the wall and then jumping onto Garfield's back, pushing him onto the floor and smacking his headset. Garfield cried out in pain and surprise.

" _Garfield?_ " Burns asked over the headset. " _Garfield, what's happening!? Talk to me!_ " Burns exclaimed over the headset as Yellow Bill stood up and lifted Garfield off of the floor. Elliot rushed forward, charging the alien and knocking it over, grappling with it as he tackled it to the floor with his android strength.

"Garfield! Go! Get to the garage! I'll hold it off long enough for you to get a head start!" Elliot yelled out as Garfield tried to push himself up from the floor. Yellow Bill hissed at Elliot and pushed the android off of it. Elliot quickly kicked at Yellow Bill's legs as it tried to stand up, sweeping it off balance for a brief moment.

Deciding that the non-prey was now a threat, Yellow Bill turned its attention fully to Elliot, who was now picking himself up off the floor and retrieving Garfield's wrench from the floor. He held the wrench defensively as Yellow Bill began to circle him, snarling before opening its mouth to reveal its inner jaws. Elliot glanced over and saw Garfield running over past the wall at the entrance, before returning his attention to Yellow Bill.

Elliot then dropped his defensive stance. "Well? Go ahead. Chase after him," Elliot said, imploring the alien. Yellow Bill tilted its curiously at Elliot, before lunging forward with lightning fast speed, knocking the android to the floor. Elliot swung the wrench upward, hitting Yellow Bill in the side of its domed head, causing it to shriek.

Yellow Bill quickly swung its tail around to smack Elliot in the head before grabbing his right arm and placing its right hand on Elliot's chest to apply pressure. Yellow Bill then smiled cruelly as it began to pull on Elliot's right arm. Elliot grimaced as the artificial nerve endings and receptors in his body relayed the pain of his arm being pulled out of its socket to his artificial brain. He began hitting the alien in the side with his free arm and hand, trying to place his left hand around the alien's throat as it leaned its eyeless domed face closer to his own.

"You... son of a... bitch!" Elliot spat at Yellow Bill. Yellow Bill merely let out a hiss before pushing the arm back towards Elliot... and then violently wrenching it away, causing white fluid to spray out from the socket. Elliot cried out as his pain receptors went into overload.

Yellow Bill let out what sounded like a defiant and victorious squeal before it dropped Elliot's arm and placed both hands around the droid's neck, twisting it and snapping it off of his body, spilling white fluid everywhere, spraying it onto Marcus's face and the walls. Yellow Bill's front was covered in android pressure fluid, or synthetic blood as it was commonly known. The alien reached back down and began tearing the rest of Elliot's limbs from his body, throwing them across the room to make sure that he could not interfere anymore.

Standing back up, Yellow Bill looked over at the shower room's privacy wall blocking the exit doorway. It then glanced up at the ceiling before leaping up and crawling over to re-enter the maintenance shaft. Meanwhile, still attached to the wall, the Hoffman-Egg began to slowly pulsate as it entered the final stages of its development.

* * *

Garfield grabbed a hold of the wall as he sharply turned a corner. He glanced back over his shoulder to check for the alien as he made his way back to the maintenance garage. "Keep moving, Marvin. Keep moving," Garfield panted to himself.

" _Garfield! This is Burns! What's going on!? What's happening!?_ " Burns asked him over his headset. "The alien... is chasing after me," Garfield replied, almost out of breath as he kept running through the corridors.

"I'm almost-shit! Oh shit!" Garfield exclaimed as he realized that he had taken a wrong turn. He couldn't remember the correct path back to the maintenance garage. " _What is it!? What's wrong!?_ " Burns asked him. "I... I-I think I got turned around!" Garfield panted into the headset.

"I'm not... not familiar enough with this place," Garfield said in dismay. He then heard rattling in the ceiling above him. Looking up, he saw a maintenance hatch begin to open. He quickly bolted for the nearest intersection seeing a sign for Section 03-C. Garfield quickly took the path and ran through the corridor until he slipped on something.

Falling onto his back, Garfield cried out in surprise and pain before rolling over and raising a hand to rub the back of his head. He looked down at the floor where he had slipped and saw some kind of slime on the bottom of his shoes. "Son of a bitch," he muttered as he slowly got up and began to turn around.

His progress was halted when a black six-fingered hand slammed into his face and sent him stumbling back. "Gyahh!" Garfield cried out as he fell back against the floor. He quickly rolled over and pushed himself back up into a semi-kneeling position, with one knee on the floor and his other one in the air with a foot on the ground. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder as Yellow Bill stepped forward, its domed head angled so that he could see the ridged structure underneath it.

"Burns... I can't make it," Garfield said into his headset. " _Why?_ " she asked him. "It won't let me get there," Garfield answered as Yellow Bill raised its head and curled its lips into a snarl. It took another step forward, its tail swaying on the floor behind it.

" _Where's Elliot?_ " Burns asked him. "I don't know, but I don't think he's in better shape than I am right now," Garfield said as he took in the sight of the white liquid splattered on the Xenomorph's front side. Garfield then tapped the headset and took it off before taking a deep breath to prepare himself.

Garfield slowly stood up and balled his hands into fists, taking a boxing stance. He knew he didn't stand a chance, but he also knew that running would be futile as well. "Let's see if you remember me," Garfield said as he glanced at his bandaged right fist.

Yellow Bill stepped forward, and Garfield charged, sending his right fist forward, only for it to be caught in Yellow Bill's left hand. Yellow Bill then grabbed Garfield's arm with its other hand and applied pressure, twisting his wrist. "Aaaarrrggghh!" Garfield cried out in pain.

Yellow Bill smiled at Garfield before letting go and grabbing him by the throat with its right hand, lifting the man into the air as it walked over and slammed him against a wall. "So, you _do_ remember me," Garfield muttered. Yellow Bill soon revealed its metallic teeth as its smile widened, before opening its mouth to reveal its inner jaws with a gurgling sound.

Garfield gulped before narrowing his eyes at the beast. "Go ahead, asshole! **_I'll see you in hell!_** "

* * *

 **THE SECURITY CENTER...**

"Garfield? Garfield!?" Burns asked into the headset. There was no response. "Is he...?" Bowman asked her hesitantly. "I don't know. His headset is turned off," Burns replied.

"What about Milo and Rains?" Bowman asked her. "We haven't contacted them yet," Burns replied. "Well, maybe we should check on them," Bowman suggested. Burns nodded her head in agreement, just as Hansen entered the room. "Okay, what'd I miss?" Hansen asked as he walked over to the monitoring station.

"Elliot and Garfield found the creature's nest," Burns said. Hansen stopped walking. "They... they did?" he asked her. "Yeah. And then the alien found _them_ ," Burns added. "Did they manage to... lure it to the garage?" Hansen asked her.

Burns turned around in her seat and looked at him somberly. "No," she said tersely. Hansen inhaled quietly and looked down at the floor before releasing a breath. "What about Milo and Rains?" Hansen asked her after a minute of silence.

"We were just getting ready to contact them," Burns replied as she fiddled with her headset. "Come in, Rains, this is Burns. Please respond," Burns said.

" _This is Rains. I heard what happened over the open frequency. What do you want us to do?_ " Rains asked her. "Rains, I want you and Milo to stay where you are. I'm coming down," Burns said as she got up.

"Wait, what!?" Bowman asked her. "Someone has to finish the job," Burns replied. "You won't make it. Just call them back up and-" "No!" Burns snapped at Bowman. "This thing _has to die!_ " she barked. "We've lost too much already to just back down and run away! This thing dies tonight! Understand me!? It fucking dies!" Burns yelled.

"Now, you can get your things and run away if you want to, but _I'm_ staying. I'll kill this thing by myself if I have to, but it has to be done. So, go ahead. Run away with your tail tucked between your legs," Burns continued.

"I'll go with you," Hansen said. "So will I," Bowman said reluctantly. " _Uh, Burns, do you mind not shouting into the headpiece?_ " Rains asked over the headset. "Fuck off," Burns spat. " _Your concern is truly commendable,_ " Rains said sarcastically.

"Just stay where you are right now. I have a new plan to get this thing into the garage where you can kill it," Burns said. " _You do?_ " Rains asked. "You do?" Hansen and Bowman asked her.

"I do," Burns said. "Hansen, I need you to reset a few major systems for me," Burns said. "Which systems do you have in mind?" Hansen asked her. "I need you to reset the fire control system," Burns said.

"Wait, why?" Hansen asked her. "I'm going to use Garfield's suggestion. We're gonna use fire to push this thing where we want it to go," Burns explained.

"You're... you've lost your goddamn mind," Hansen said. "Whatever it takes, this thing has to die. We can't let it live, and we can't risk letting it escaping," Burns retorted. "And you think that means the rest of us want to die too!? Fuck you, Burns!" Hansen snapped back at her.

"Then tell Martin to call for someone to pick us up. I'll go down there and flush it into the maintenance garage where Milo and Rains can kill it, while the rest of you wait for a ride. Happy?" Burns asked him.

" _Uh, Burns? Milo and I can both still hear you over the headset. I think maybe you should just let one of us go out into the halls and lure the thing back here to the garage. There's a lot less destruction involved that way,_ " Rains said.

"Do either of you have a motion tracker with you? Would you know where it is?" Burns asked them. " _Shit. No, we don't,_ " Rains admitted over the headset. "Then stay put. I'll-oh no," Burns said as she turned to look at the monitors. "Rains! Milo! Get your asses in gear! It's in the room with you!" Burns shouted as she saw the camera feed for the maintenance garage go dark.

Glancing over at the weapons on the nearby table, Burns grabbed a revolver and harness, along with a shotgun before loading it with some slugs and pocketing a few others in her jacket. She then quickly limped out of the security center as fast as she could, with Bowman and Hansen both close behind. "Burns, wait!" Bowman called out as he caught up with her.

"By the time you get a suit on and get in the airlock-" "I'm not using the airlock! Hansen, unlock one of the elevators!" Burns snapped as she listened to the sounds of Rains and Milo battling the alien over her headset.

" _Milo, watch out!_ " Rains shouted before gun shots were heard.

" _I don't see it anymore! Where did it go!?_ " Milo shouted over the headset. " _It's above you! Look out!_ " Rains soon shouted over the headset.

More gunshots soon echoed over the headset, along with Milo's screams of terror. " _Milo!_ " Rains screamed in horror before more gun shots were heard. "Just hold on, Rains! We're on our way!" Burns yelled into the headset as she pushed Bowman back and resumed hobbling over to the nearest elevator.

" _Get back! Get away from me!_ " Rains screamed as he fired his shotgun.

When Burns arrived at the elevator, she began pressing the CALL button. "Hansen! Unlock this elevator!" she shouted as she looked at the man standing next to Bowman in the hallway. " _ **HANSEN!**_ " Burns shouted angrily.

More gunfire echoed over the headset, before an alarm went off. " **WARNING. ELECTRICAL FIRE DETECTED IN MAINTENANCE GARAGE. INITITATING FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM IN MAINTENANCE GARAGE IN T-MINUS NINETY SECONDS** ," the station's automated emergency system announced over the speakers.

"Shit!" Burns swore. She soon heard weak coughing over the headset. "Rains? Rains!?" Burns asked worriedly into her headset. " _It... I hit it, Burns. [Cough] I hit the bastard. But its blood hit some exposed cables on the floor and the wall_ ," Rains said weakly over the headset.

"Rains, just get out of the garage and get back up here. You've killed the alien, and we know where its nest is located. I'll make my way down with Bowman and Hansen to finish the job. Just get back up here," Burns said into the headset.

" _I didn't say that I-_ " Soon, there was a raspy cry over the headset and then the sound of plastic skidding over the floor. Burns could no longer hear Rains. "Rains?" Burns asked worriedly. "Rains, please come in. Rains? Rains, please!" Burns pleaded over the headset.

" **FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM WILL COMMENCE IN T-MINUS TWENTY SECONDS.** "

Burns could feel a stinging sensation in her eyes before she reached up to wipe away the tears. "Hansen, I'm giving you one more chance," Burns said darkly as she turned around to look at the last remaining security officer. "Go back and unlock this _fucking_ elevator," she ordered.

Hansen closed his eyes and sighed. "Burns, please think about this for a minute," Hansen said, before Burns pulled out her revolver and cocked it. "Hansen... I'm in charge now. Follow my fucking orders," she said darkly. "Burns... please, put the gun down," Bowman pleaded with her.

"I'm not leaving Rains down there to die," she said, choking up. "Give me the gun... and I'll go with you," Bowman said as he kept his hands raised where Burns could see them. "Promise?" she asked him.

Bowman nodded his head. "I promise," he said firmly. Burns then looked over at Hansen. "Hansen? Are you going to unlock this elevator?" she asked. "Fine. I'll go-" Hansen was interrupted when the lights blacked out.

"What the hell!?" Bowman cried out. "The electrical fire! It must have spread outside of the maintenance garage!" Burns cried out. " **WARNING. EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN INITIATED. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST DESIGNATED SAFE ZONE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. WARNING. EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN INITIATED. PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST DESIGNATED SAFE ZONE AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS** ," the station's computer systems announced as red lights soon came on.

"Where are the nearest designated safe zones?" Bowman asked. "The security center, rec room, and operations center," Hansen replied. "Then let's head back to the security center," Bowman suggested.

"But, Rains-" "I'm sorry, Burns. But if the fire has spread... at least he killed the alien," Bowman said apologetically. Burns slowly let out a mournful sigh before slamming a fist against the wall. Bowman walked over and put his arm around her shoulder to begin leading her back to the security center with Hansen.

* * *

Author's Notes: And this was chapter eleven. So, is Yellow Bill dead? Will the station be consumed by an electrical fire? Will Burns finally let Bowman tap her sweet, sweet ass?

The answers to all of these questions will be answered... in the next and final chapter of ALIEN BALL Z! I mean, ALIEN: HARD-HEADS!

My next story after this one will be another ALIEN story, this time involving the United States Colonial _Army_. I know that it's traditional to use the Colonial Marines, but I think they get more coverage than any other group in the ALIEN universe, you know? The Colonial Army, however, has gotten almost no coverage in any films or ALIEN literature, aside from a few bits of text from the _ALIENS: Colonial Marines Technical Manual_. Granted, it's referred to as the United States Army, but it still exists. Anyway, more information about the plot of the story is available on my profile page.

Anyhow, be sure to let me know what you guys think of the chapter and/or story so far in your reviews.


	12. SHOWDOWN

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12: SHOWDOWN**

* * *

 **DATE: AUGUST 19th, 2137**

 **THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

Hansen shook his head as another error message appeared on the screen. "I can't do it," he said with a frustrated sigh. "The electrical fire damaged those connections. You can see right here," he added as he pointed to the screen. "So the elevators are completely locked down now," Bowman commented. "Actually, they're _completely_ _inoperable_ ," Hansen corrected.

"We can't even go down to level two using them, except for the emergency dumbwaiter system connected to the medical supply room," Hansen said as he brought up a schematic on the computer screen. "Terrific, and Elliot's MIA," Green said bitterly. After the alarms had gone off, all of the remaining personnel had gathered in the security center before using a maintenance shaft to make their way to the operations center.

"At least Rains killed the xenoborg, right?" Torres asked. "It's xeno _morph_ , Torres," Martin said, correcting her. "I think so. I hope," Burns said, remembering the sounds that she heard over the headset before the alarms had gone off. "We still have to go down there and do a sweep to be sure. And we still have to take care of the nest," Burns added.

"I think that can wait a little bit," Green said. "No, it _can't_ ," Burns said firmly. "Garfield and Elliot both told us that Marcus and Kendricks had been cocooned down there and that the other captured crew were being turned into eggs. We don't know how long we have until those eggs hatch, because Marcus and Kendricks will both be attacked by facehuggers when they do, and then this whole mess will start all over again," Burns explained.

"She's right," Bowman said. "We've lost at least ten people while dealing with just _one_ of these things. Now imagine _two_ running around," he added. Torres went pale at the thought, while Green and Martin both inhaled nervously. "If we don't take care of the nest, then Rains and Milo will have both died for nothing," Burns added.

"That's not all," Hansen said as he looked at the error messages displayed on another screen. "With the elevators being shut off, we have to use the dumbwaiter system or the airlocks, which means that getting down there is going to time that we may not be able to afford if we keep waiting," he continued. "What about the maintenance shafts?" Green asked him.

"The deadbolt between level three and level two is still in place. That has to be taken care of manually, but I wouldn't suggest touching it until we've _confirmed_ that the alien is dead," Hansen replied. "You don't think Rains killed it?" Torres asked him with a nervous gulp.

"Maybe he did, but... when we go down to take care of the nest, we should probably go find the body and confirm that it's dead. Just to be safe," Hansen added in response. "Well, just when do we go down?" Bowman asked him. Hansen looked back over a screen to check on the fire safety systems. "The fire's been dead for over an hour now, so we can go down any time we want," Hansen replied.

"Okay. I'm gonna head to the airlock and suit up," Burns said as she turned away and started limping over to the exit. "Burns, don't go down there without us," Bowman said as he looked over at her. "We still need to get weapons, just to be safe," he added.

Burns glanced down at the shotgun in her hands before looking back at Bowman with a raised eyebrow. "Well, the _rest of us_ need to get weapons," Bowman said in response. Burns sighed and rolled her eyes in response.

"Fine. I'll be waiting by the airlock in Section E," Burns said as she exited the room. Bowman soon returned to the others. "Hansen, are you coming with us?" Bowman asked the security deputy. "Uh, sure," Hansen replied hesitantly. "I'll go too," Green said. "Martin? Torres?" Bowman asked the other two staff. "Someone's gotta stay up here to keep things running. Sorry, but I'm out," Martin said from his seat.

"I-I'm not going down there," Torres said after Bowman turned to look at her. "No fucking way. I'm not ending up like the others. It's not happening," she said shakily, fidgeting in her seat with her arms crossed.

Bowman nodded his head quietly in understanding. Torres was afraid. He was afraid too. They were all afraid. Exhaustion was also starting to take hold on some of them, like Torres and Martin. Even Hansen was beginning to feel tired from the ordeal, and Bowman could feel himself becoming emotionally drained by the situation. Even Burns had been displaying signs of stress and fatigue.

"Alright, Martin and Torres, just stay up here. We'll be back," Hansen said to the two personnel who had decided to stay behind. Hansen, Green, and Bowman soon made their way out of the room, leaving a single long-arm taser behind with Martin.

* * *

 **LEVEL 03, SECTION 03-E...**

Inside the airlock, Burns, Bowman, Hansen, and Green waited for the re-pressurization sequence to finish. Burns was holding a shotgun, Bowman was holding a motion tracker, Hansen was holding a shotgun, and Green had a long-arm taser. When the sequence was finished and the airlock had been refilled with air, the doors opened and the group entered the lobby of the airlock, closing the airlock doors behind them.

Taking off her EVA suit, Burns had foregone her jacket and cowboy hat. Holding her shotgun tightly in her hands, she looked at the security camera on the wall as she waited for the others to get out of their suits. Walking over to the wall, Burns leaned back against it as she checked the open doorway of the Section 03-E airlock lobby, scanning the corridor for signs of trouble.

A few minutes later, the others had removed their EVA suits and were already picking up their gear. "You guys ready?" Burns asked as she glanced back at the three men. "Yeah," Bowman replied. Burns nodded her head before slowly limping over to the doorway, waiting just long enough for the others to catch up to her.

"Where to first?" Hansen asked Burns. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brows in thought, mentally debating with herself just which location truly needed attention first. Despite her desire to find and rescue Rains, _if_ he was still alive, Burns knew that there was a much more pressing matter that needed to be dealt with. "The shower room. We're heading for the nest first," she finally said with conviction.

 _I'm sorry, Rains. But we have to destroy the nest before we can go any further. It has to be done before Kendricks and Marcus can become hosts for more of those facehuggers_ , Burns thought to herself with some regret. The group began moving silently through the corridors of level 03, slowly making their way to the alien's nest.

The silence of the halls left the group unnerved as they made their way towards the miners' quarters. Every now and then, Green would check over his shoulder to glance at the empty halls behind them, searching for shadows. As the group eventually reached the intersection for Section 03-A, they saw something on the floor in a corridor nearby.

Stepping forward carefully, Burns crept closer to the large object before realizing that it was actually a body lying face down. Kneeling down, Burns winced at the pressue put on her knees, before she gently pushed the body over, revealing Garfield's bloodied face. There was a bloodied gaping hole in his head, along with a bloody hole in his right hand on the floor as well.

Reaching forward, Burns closed Garfield's eyelids before standing up and limping back over to the group. "Was that Garfield?" Bowman asked her as he glanced over her shoulder at the body in the hallway. Burns nodded her head quietly.

"Why did it just leave his body there?" Hansen asked curiously. "Don't know. Maybe it just didn't like him," Burns suggested humorlessly. While Burns hadn't exactly been fond of Garfield, his growing acceptance of his responsibility for their current predicament had caused her to develop a small amount of respect for the man, especially when he had volunteered to use himself as bait.

"We'll come back later, after we've destroyed the nest," Burns said. She began leading the group forward again through the corridors. The silence of the halls once again became unnerving, as the only other sounds were the soft footfalls of each person in the group as they slowly but surely approached the entrance to the miners' quarters.

Stepping into the large dark room, the group slowly passed the two-level housing structure that filled up the center of the room. Green and Bowman both carefully glanced up at the stairs of the miners' quarters as they passed it, checking for signs of activity. Burns silently led the group forward, pausing as they entered the locker room.

"Do we go straight through?" Hansen asked Burns. Burns glanced around at the opposite ends of the room and contemplated their options. "Yeah. For now," she finally replied before marching forward, keeping her shotgun aimed forward, using the flashlight to illuminate any dark corners or shadows that she neared.

Passing by each locker, Burns eventually came up to the open doorway showing the privacy wall that blocked the main view of the shower room from the locker room. Stepping inside the shower room, Burns slowly made her way around the privacy wall before stepping out and gazing at the sight before her. Bowman, Green, and Hansen soon made their way behind Burns and stared in horror at the nest.

Slowly stepping forward, Burns looked around at the secreted resin that covered half of the room. The appearance of the resin was identical to the room inside the Engineer ship. On the floor of the room was the mutilated body of Elliot, whose limbs had been thrown around in various locations while his severed head was resting nearby on the floor. Looking around further, Burns saw an egg attached to the wall, with its four petals opened. Looking only a short distance away, Burns aimed her shotgun and light at the wall until she saw a cocooned Fred Marcus... and the fate that had befallen him.

" _No_ ," Burns whispered mournfully as she shone her light on the cocooned man and the facehugger attached to him. With a gulp, Burns stepped forward, inspecting her face-hugged boss. "I-I'm sorry. I'm _so sorry_ ," Burns breathed out heavily, realizing that they were too late to save him.

"M-Marcus," Green said in dismay as he looked at the cocooned man. Green found a lump forming in his throat as he realized that there was no way to save the man. Even though Marcus was still breathing, he was already dead.

"What about Kendricks?" Hansen asked with a gulp before shining a flashlight on the other end of the wall. A cocooned Kendricks could be seen, his face free of any parasites. Walking up to his fellow security officer, Hansen placed a hand on the man's throat. He found a steady pulse, indicating that the man was still alive and breathing.

"He's alive," Hansen exclaimed. The others turned to look at him. "Let's get him out of there," Green said, forcing himself to ignore Marcus as he ran over to help Hansen attempt to free Kendricks from his cocoon.

Meanwhile, Burns was still focusing her attention on Marcus. Raising her shotgun and stepping back, she aimed her weapon at the man's chest. "I'm sorry, Fred. You didn't deserve this," she croaked, causing Bowman to glance in her direction. "Wait, what are you-" _**BANG!**_

The metal slug tore through the resin and into Marcus's chest, plowing through his heart. The others quickly clasped their hands over their ears as the shot rang out in the room. She then fired the weapon again, this time into the other side of his chest cavity, ensuring that there was no chance of another alien developing inside him.

The air sacks on the side of the facehugger stopped pulsing, and the creature soon unwrapped its tail from around Marcus's throat. It then slowly withdrew its proboscis back into its body before clambering off of Marcus's face. Burns waited until the creature was completely off of the man before shoving her shotgun's barrel forward into its back and dragging it to the floor.

Just as the process of using and losing a stinger causes a bee to die, having already begun the process of embryo formation earlier via the chemicals released by its proboscis, the creature's death clock had already begun ticking, and so it lacked the strength necessary to defend itself after detaching from a dead host. Burns roughly used the barrel of her weapon to push it over to the floor in front of the privacy wall before backing up several feet and aiming her weapon at the creature. "Hug _this_ , you asshole," Burns muttered before firing her weapon at the creature, blowing the tail and several limbs off before firing a second time to blow it apart completely.

The creature's blood sprayed out violently, causing Burns to raise the shotgun to cover herself protectively. She could hear and feel the patter of the creature's blood hitting her clothes and the floor, but when she opened her eyes, she saw that the blood, while releasing smoke into the air, was not eating away at the floor or her jumpsuit as destructively as the first facehugger's blood. When the first metal slug tore through Marcus's chest, the force and trauma had already damaged the creature's proboscis, allowing the air flowing into the bleeding cavity to begin oxidizing the creature's blood, neutralizing it at a moderate pace.

Lowering her shotgun's barrel to the floor, Burns took a deep breath as she examined the remains of the facehugger. She then slowly turned around to look over at the corpse of Marcus. Closing her eyes, Burns let out a mournful sigh before she began making her way over to the others.

Hansen and Green had resumed their efforts to free Kendricks from his cocoon, while Bowman was watching Burns with concern. "You... uh... you okay?" Bowman asked Burns quietly as he approached her. Burns looked at Bowman with a frown on her face. "No. I'm _not_ okay," she replied bitterly.

Bowman nodded his head before letting out a breath. "Well, come on. Let's help the others get Kendricks out of here. Then we can figure out what to do with the rest of the... eggs," Bowman said as he glanced around at the developing pods.

A coughing sound soon drew Burns and Bowman's attention from the others. Looking down at the floor, the duo saw Elliot looking up at them, his head lying on its side. "So... if you're all here, I take it the plan succeeded?" Elliot asked hopefully.

"We hope so. We'll be leaving to go inspect the maintenance garage soon," Burns replied, slightly put off by the sight of Elliot's decapitated head. "By all means, don't let me stop you," Elliot commented. His voice was more monotone than before, and slightly more hoarse, with more synthetic undertones to it, now that his head was no longer attached to his body and his other vocalization systems.

Looking around at the rest of Elliot's dismembered limbs, Burns grimaced. "Not a pretty sight, is it?" Elliot asked her as he noticed where she was looking. Burns looked back at his head and shook her own in response.

"Looks like you're gonna need more than a few stitches after this mess," Burns said in an attempt at humor. Elliot frowned at her. "I think may need a whole new body," he said bitterly.

The sounds of Hansen and Green trying to free Kendricks soon stopped and a surprised yelp was heard from one of them. "You didn't hurt yourselves, did you?" Burns asked before she looked up and away from Elliot's head. Burns looked over at where Green and Hansen had been, only to see a black arm and hand, seemingly grown out of the resin itself, holding Hansen in the air by his throat, while Green had been knocked on his ass.

Finally taking notice of the shape buried in the wall, Burns' eyes widened with a gasp. "Son of a bitch," Bowman muttered as he stood next to her, staring at the sight before them. Yellow Bill was alive. And not only was it alive, it was also very, very pissed.

Craning its head to look at Burns and Bowman, Yellow Bill curled its lips into a snarl, before snapping Hansen's neck with a simple twist of its wrist, throwing the body to the ground next to Green. Green whimpered in fear and scooted away from the corpse, his eyes darting back and forth between Yellow Bill and Hansen's body. Yellow Bill slowly pulled itself off of the wall, setting one foot on the floor at a time.

Unlike previous encounters, Yellow Bill did not smile cruelly at its prey. It frowned at them now. It recognized them as threats, not as potential hosts for more of its kind. The beast slowly inhaled and exhaled as it methodically stepped forward. A noticeable large yellow-green mark, reminiscent of a scab, could be seen on the left side of the beast's waist, with another small spot on its tail.

Burns raised her shotgun at the beast. " _Not in here_ ," Bowman whispered to her, causing her to glance at him, before she noticed Green still on the floor. If she were to shoot the alien, Green would no doubt get hit by its blood, and Kendricks was still cocooned to the wall behind the creature. Even if the blood didn't hit him, he was still in the line of fire.

" _The maintenance garage,_ " Bowman whispered into Burns' ear. Burns nodded her head in agreement. Yellow Bill continued to slowly advance upon their position, drool dripping from its chin as it let out a hiss in the duo's direction. Burns and Bowman slowly began backing up, leading Yellow Bill away from the others.

Yellow Bill followed them, silently and intently, as they slowly made their way around the privacy wall and into the locker room. They made sure to keep the alien in their line of sight, and to keep themselves where it could see them. Careful not to bump into the lockers, Burns and Bowman continued backing up, eventually exiting the locker room, with Yellow Bill not too far behind.

It was when Yellow Bill stepped into the room containing the miners' quarters that the beast became more aware of the situation. Glancing around swiftly, Yellow Bill recognized what was happening. It remembered the previous two times it had chased prey through these areas. It remembered the traps... and it would not fall for them again. Yellow Bill let out a hiss before stepping back from the two humans, backing itself up into the locker room.

Had its wounds been given more time to heal effectively, Yellow Bill would have bounded onto the walls and tried to block the two humans from escaping. As it was, it could not twist itself around and leap into action without stressing its injuries. Its less advanced brethren, hidden elsewhere throughout the galaxy, would have shrugged off such injuries and leapt into action without any concern for their own safety. As it was, the tinkering that had produced Yellow Bill's particular genetic strain had also made it more mindful of its own limitations.

Looking past Yellow Bill, Burns noticed Green slowly disappearing behind a column of lockers as he dragged a recently-freed but still-unconscious Kendricks with him, no doubt attempting to find a place to hide. Yellow Bill slowly continued backing up, away from the two humans, as began plotting its next move. At least, until an electric shock to its side shook it from its staredown with Burns and Bowman.

Hissing in surprise and pain, Yellow Bill turned to face Green, who was holding a long-arm taser in his hands. Green shot forward with the device again, hitting Yellow Bill in the chest. The creature let out a shriek of pain before baring its maw and snarling at Green. Green gulped in fear as he feigned another attack, watching with some sense of pride as Yellow Bill retreated from him in apprehension.

"Green! Push it out here! Towards us!" Burns shouted at him. Green glanced over in her direction, giving Yellow Bill the chance to grab his weapon by the shaft and push back against him. Green let out a surprised yelp as he fell backwards onto the floor. Burns watched in horror as Yellow Bill attempted to throw the taser away, as it had done with so many others before.

Green, for his efforts, held on to the weapon, refusing to let go as his knuckles turned white from his grip. Even in its injured state, however, Yellow Bill was still stronger than a normal human, and it pulled the taser back, dragging Green forward as it did. Green let out a cry of surprise as he tried pulling up one leg to bend it and plant a booted foot on a locker door in an effort to provide some resistance against Yellow Bill.

"L-Let go!" Green spat at the alien. If Yellow Bill understood his words, the beast made no showing of it, as it simply continued to tug on the taser. Watching the scene as it played out, and noticing how Yellow Bill kept the dangerous end of the taser away from itself, Bowman had an epiphany.

The alien was next to the showers, and electricity hurt it, just as it would hurt a human. If the creature became wet, and the taser were to strike it in a delicate spot... the electric current could potentially weaken the beast or even kill it. "Burns! Burns, I've got it!" Bowman whispered in triumph.

"Yeah? Care to share what _it_ is?" Burns asked him as she glanced away from the struggle between Green and Yellow Bill, a struggle which Green was quickly beginning to lose. "Water and electricity," Bowman said to her. Burns raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "We'll electrocute the fucker in the showers," Bowman explained.

"Yeah, but... Elliot's still in there," Burns protested. Bowman furrowed his brows and glanced at Green, who was straining to hold on to the taser as Yellow Bill continued pulling it back. "I'll take care of that," Bowman said before he ran forward.

"Bow-wait!" Burns cried out as the idiot rushed forward. Bowman quickly closed the distance between himself and the two struggling opponents, diving underneath the taser held between them and rolling on the floor into the shower. Bowman let out a gasp and cry as he hit his head against the doorway of the shower room by accident, clasping his forehead with his hands in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

"Fucking moron!" Burns shouted in disbelief at the man's actions.

While Bowman had dove under the taser, both of the beings grasping it, Green and Yellow Bill, had become distracted momentarily from their struggle. Both opponents shifted their focus to the man on the floor, both having entered a brief stupor as they tried to process the absurdity that had unfolded before them. Yellow Bill, of course, recovered from its stupor first, and quickly pulled the taser from Green's grasp.

Green let out a gasp in shock and fear as he saw Yellow Bill pull the taser back before shoving it forward and hitting him in the face with the butt of the weapon. Green cried out in pain as he fell backwards onto a still-unconscious Kendricks. Green reached up to place one hand on his broken and bloodied nose, groaning in pain as he felt the sticky warmth of the blood on his hand, before a menacing hiss drew his attention upwards.

Yellow Bill snarled at Green before dropping the taser onto the floor behind it. It slowly began advancing towards him, its mouth twisted in a snarl of malice and hatred. Green struggled to crawl back away from the beast, only to hear Kendricks finally begin to stir as he shifted his weight on top of the man.

"Ugh... Green? What's going on? Where... oh god! Oh god!" Kendricks began to whimper as he looked over Green's shoulder and saw Yellow Bill slowly advancing towards them. "Green, get off me!" Kendricks whimpered in fear. Green had become frozen in place as the helplessness of their situation took hold of him, gripping him and refusing to let go.

It was now that Yellow Bill's expression of hate became one of sadistic and joyful malice, its metallic teeth shining as it pulled its lips apart in a cruel and twisted smile. The alien slowly began spreading its arms out with each step forward, until the sound of running water caught its attention. Twisting its body carefully and looking into the now empty entrance of the shower room, Yellow Bill tilted its head in confusion.

There had been a threat in that location earlier, but it had moved. There was prey in front of it, but the threat had to be dealt with first. Glancing over to where the other threat, the injured threat, had been standing, Yellow Bill's smiled disappeared as its lips uncurled and pursed themselves.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Yellow Bill had begun to understand that the sounds made by its prey and opponents had meanings. Burns was the name of the prey-turned-threat that infuriated it the most, and Bowman was the new threat. It could not see Burns, but it knew from her pheromones that she was still in the area.

Yellow Bill also knew that Burns was injured, making her less dangerous than before. Of course, with its own injuries, Yellow Bill knew that it and Burns were both equally dangerous _and_ vulnerable to each other at this point. The other threat, Bowman, was still uninjured, and was more dangerous. Therefore, Bowman needed to be dealt with first.

As quickly as it could, without stressing its slowly healing injuries, Yellow Bill turned and darted into the shower room, where the sound of falling water was amplified by both the room itself and the fact that three more shower faucets had been turned on in the time since the first one had drawn its attention. Slowly walking past the privacy wall, Yellow Bill kept itself against the wall before slowly stalking towards the first shower stall, pulling open the curtain and stepping inside, carefully stepping over the small ridge that prevented water from entering the rest of the room. The water falling from the shower-head danced across Yellow Bill's biomechanical exoskeleton as rain on rough terrain.

Finding no sign of Bowman in the first stall, Yellow Bill turned around and exited the stall, letting the water fall onto its back, dorsal spine and tubes, and its tail as it made its way over to the next stall. Yellow Bill pushed aside the curtain and found that there was no water falling in this one, and the floor was dry. Propped up in a corner was a severed arm belonging to the not-prey that it had dismembered earlier.

Stepping out of the stall, Yellow Bill made its way to the next one. It pushed aside the curtain and felt the water splash onto it as it stepped forward to investigate, finding no trace of Bowman in this stall either. The water continued to cascade over its chitinous exoskeleton as it turned around and stepped back out into the main room, water dripping from its body with every step as it lightly swayed its tail in an attempt to briefly dry itself.

Walking over to the final untouched stall on that side of the room, Yellow Bill stepped forward, pushing aside the curtain and noticing a slightly strange scent. Placing both feet in the stall, Yellow Bill noticed a small object lying on a small shelf built into the stall. It was an open bottle of lavender liquid soap. There was no soap on the floor of the stall, but with the bottle being opened, and the shower not running, the scent was going to catch Yellow Bill's attention once it got close enough.

Moving its head towards the bottle, Yellow Bill huffed and sniffed, opening its jaws and letting out is inner jaw tongue to probe at the bottle in a gentle and investigative manner. Reaching forward with one arm, Yellow Bill grabbed the bottle and used one of its two opposable thumbs to close the lid, having found bottle with similar caps in the various rooms it had explored throughout the station, especially in the miners' quarters. Of course, those bottles contained different liquid substances than merely soap.

Stepping out of the stall, Yellow Bill made its way over to one of the stalls that had been overtaken with resin and hive growth. There was water falling from the shower-head onto the resin and the slowly developing Brown-Egg. Water had been splashed onto several parts of the growing hive, especially on the other developing eggs. Unnoticed by Yellow Bill, the body of Elliot and his other limbs had been moved from where it had deposited them earlier.

As Yellow Bill continued investigating the showers, Burns had carefully made her way into the locker room. Carefully creeping over to Green and a now awake Kendricks, Burns ordered both of them to remain silent as she grabbed Green's taser and checked its charge. Glancing up at the privacy wall of the shower room, Burns narrowed her eyes and stood up tall. She gave her shotgun to Kendricks as she helped Green move off of him.

"If I don't come back from that room... make it count," she whispered to the two men. They both nodded their heads quietly, and Burns slowly slipped into the shower room, pressing herself up against the privacy wall as she reached down and felt the holstered revolver she still had on her. She doubted that the weapon would have the necessary stopping power for dealing with the alien, but if worse came to worse, she could always use it to put herself out of her misery, along with Bowman, if the beast were to cripple them and decide to use them as hosts for the developing eggs in the room.

Meanwhile, huddled in a dry shower stall, Bowman held Elliot's severed head in a towel as he gripped a wrench in his hands. He listened as one curtain was moved to the side a couple stalls down, and heard the change in falling water as it stopped hitting the floor and started hitting something else. _Come on, Burns! God, this was a stupid plan! What the hell was I thinking!? I'm going to die huddled in a shower with a dismembered android_ , Bowman thought to himself as he heard the foot steps of the alien as it exited the stall. Bowman figured that he would have a few more minutes as the alien investigated each stall, both the clean ones and the ones that had hive growth in them.

He had hoped that the sound of rushing water would confuse the alien so that he could gather Elliot's various body parts and put them someplace safe before hightailing it out of the room while the alien continued its investigation. He had even placed his shirt, which had gotten wet from handling the shower-heads, in one of the other stalls as a decoy. However, the speed at which the alien was entering and leaving each stall meant that Bowman could not safely proceed without being caught.

Glancing down at Elliot's pensive face, Bowman looked back up at the curtain, noticing that under the curtain, he could see two black clawed human-like feet, glistening and wet from water, standing in front of the stall. _Oh shit_ , Bowman thought to himself in realization. A few seconds later, Yellow Bill pushed the curtain open with its left hand and frowned at Bowman.

"Well, you found Waldo," Bowman joked nervously. Yellow Bill simply curled its lips to reveal it metallic teeth as water dripped down from its chin. "Burns, you were right. I'm a fucking idiot," Bowman said to himself as he looked up at the dripping wet alien.

Yellow Bill's tail began twitching and swaying behind it, and the beast prepared to step into the stall, until a bar of soap hit it in the back of its elongated head. The beast let out an infuriated hiss as it turned around and saw Burns standing in the middle of the room. "Hey, _dick head!_ Let's dance," Burns said as she held her taser defensively.

Yellow Bill snarled at her and turned itself around to fully face her, stepping forward with determination to kill this threat once and for all. Burns slowly began maneuvering herself back from the center of the room, drawing Yellow Bill towards her. She jabbed the taser forward briefly to intimidate it, only for Yellow Bill to reach forward in an effort to grab the device.

Burns quickly kept the taser pulled back and out of the alien's reach. "Uh-uh! Bad boy," Burns spat at Yellow Bill. The two opponents eyed each other, each waiting for the other to make their next move. Yellow Bill slowly stepped away and swayed its tail back and forth, before feigning a move to its left. Burns maneuvered herself to counter the false attack, falling for Yellow Bill's trick. It then quickly stepped forward, catching Burns off guard and forcing her to back up and trip over a stall ridge, falling back into a dry stall with a cry.

Yellow Bill began to march forward, and Burns used the taser as a pole to try to steady herself as she saw the alien advancing. She quickly scooted herself back before dropping the taser down, keeping its tip off of any surfaces, and opening a small panel to quickly alter the taser's settings. She moved it past the safe limit and gripped the rubber handle as Yellow Bill picked up its pace, preparing to move in for the kill as it bent over and moved on all fours like a baboon.

It's mouth was wide open in a vicious smile, anticipating the delicious victory that was so close at hand. At last, it would eliminate the infuriating Burns threat, which had proven herself to be the only credible threat to it so far, and it would be able to peacefully continue building its hive, eventually creating a queen with a special egg and facehugger after enough workers had been born through the other hosts. Its instinct to survive and propagate would be unhindered, and a new hive would be able to grow without worry.

All of this would be possible once it killed that infuriating Burns. Yellow Bill opened its mouth to reveal its inner jaw as it moved forward, water dripping from its body with every movement. Its mouth was wet from water and drool, and every part of it glistened as though it were a shiny moving piece of disturbing art. Yellow Bill let out a victorious squeal as it approached Burns, who held her taser beside her, almost too winded to move it.

"That's right, Billy!" Burns urged with anticipation as Yellow Bill crossed the threshold with another victorious squeal. She then gripped it with both hands and brought it up, holding it steady and true as she shoved the tip into Yellow Bill's open maw. "Taste victory! _My_ victory!" Burns shouted excitedly as she depressed a special button to send forth a charge from the device's maintenance setting.

Bowman was correct: water conducted electricity. The electricity surged through the water in and on Yellow Bill, running through its mouth and crackling as the energy sped through the beast. Burns kept the taser steady as smoke began to rise from where the device rested in Yellow Bill's mouth, with electric shocks being visible and eliciting a horrid screech from the monster as it began to thrash around wildly in throes of pain and death.

The electricity surged through its body, blistering and boiling its black and yellow hide, burning it and making parts of it pop, its blood splattering onto the curtain above Burns as she grabbed it use as cover. Yellow Bill's movements became increasingly erratic and violent as it thrashed around and fell back to the floor, screeching as it died in agony. The electricity crackled around and inside its body, cooking it and forming blisters that popped from its dorsal tubes, even melting parts of its exoskeleton and the soft tissue hidden underneath, its still-developing cranium receiving a full blast of white hot electric shock.

Its organs boiled, swelled, and popped inside its head, effectively ending all motor functions as its domed head slammed against the floor violently. The ribbed and ridged structures seen underneath the dome began swelling and popping, releasing smoke that soon filled the dome and made it opaque. Yellow Bill's tongue lunged out and retreated multiple times, opening and closing its small set of jaws repeatedly in quick succession before slowing down as the tender tissue began smoking, swelling, inflating and deflating, and eventually crackling and turning crisp and black.

The beast spasmed wildly on the floor as smoke and steam rose from its body, its mouth opening and closing with no sound as dry and rough hacks erupted from it. Its arms and legs twitched violently and its tail whipped about in a violent dance. It's limbs began to swell and pop out of their sockets with green and yellow puss that smoked with small white and blue electric shocks erupting every few seconds. Soon, the twitching and thrashing began to slow, until it ceased all together, and Yellow Bill was but a smoldering and charred corpse on the floor.

Yellow Bill was finally dead.

Getting up, Burns checked the charge on the taser. It was almost gone, and she still had one more target to finish off. Carefully stepping around the smoking corpse of Yellow Bill, Burns limped over to the nest and saw how much of it had been covered in water. Raising the taser up high, Burns aimed and threw the device at the nearest egg, setting of a reaction as the water helped to conduct what remaining electricity was left throughout the nest.

Blue and white lines of light could be seen briefly as electrical charges and shocks that spread like tiny hands of lightning throughout the nest as eggs and resin began to smoke and crackle, swelling, and even melting the freshest and softest parts of the growths. The developing eggs began releasing smoke as the organic contents inside of them were cooked and burnt by the electric current. The outer leather-like hide of the eggs 'shells' began to whither and crackle, blackening as smoke rose from its own conductivity.

Shapes of ribbing and bone swelled and popped, and ridges began to melt. Grey became black and light became dark. An acrid smell filled the air as the smoke rose, and Burns had to cover her nose as she retreated from the sight.

After a few minutes, the current became grounded when there was nothing left to conduct it properly. The developing eggs were dead, burnt and wilted, and the biomechanical tendrils of the expanding hive growths were withered and curled, broken and burnt, cracked and devoid of life. The nest was no more.

Glancing over at the shower stall where Bowman was sitting with Elliot's head, Burns let out a relieved sigh, smiling at Bowman. Burns slowly limped her way over to the stall and sat down next to it, looking in at Bowman and Elliot's head. Slowly crawling into the stall, she placed herself over Bowman and clasped his face with her hands, pulling his mouth forward as she tilted her own to kiss him.

When she pulled away, she sat back and leaned back against the side of the stall perpendicular to Bowman. "So, what are you gonna tell your bosses back home?" Burns asked the Weyland-Yutani desk jockey. Bowman blinked at her in confusion, his mind still reeling from the fact that Alexandra Burns had actually kissed him.

"Uh... what?" he asked her stupidly. "We still have the ship to take care of, and we'll have a lot of explaining to do when the others return from Dalia," Burns explained as she rested the back of her head against the wall. "Well... you're in charge. You figure it out," Bowman said.

"Heh," Burns muttered with an amused chuckle. "I guess I am," she said. "I guess... we'll keep the ship and the remains of the nest and the alien intact until they arrive. After that... we'll figure out what to do from there. I'm tired, Trent. I'm very tired, and I'm sore, and I'd like to get a shower, but I don't have the energy right now," she said wearily.

"Um, Burns? Why did you kiss me?" Bowman asked her. Burns lifted her head and looked at him questioningly. "I dunno. It just seemed appropriate, I guess," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. Bowman slowly nodded his head in understanding. "In that case... would you... like to... maybe-" "Let me rest first," Burns interrupted him, knowing where he was going.

"Right now... I'm tired, and I'm honestly just grateful to be alive at this point. Let me rest for a bit and then... we'll see what happens," Burns continued, looking Bowman in the eyes. Bowman let out a resigned sigh and nodded his head. "Alright. We'll see what happens," Bowman said in agreement as he reclined back against the wall.

"Um... I'm still conscious," Elliot said with a frown. Burns and Bowman both looked down at his severed head in remembrance. "Oh, right. We gotta get you fixed up some time," Burns said, before resting again. "Just give us some time, Elliot. We've got all the time in the world now," Burns added softly before she closed her eyes and began drifting off.

* * *

BRANDY-IRON TAROS STATION #04 INCIDENT REPORT.

SUBMITTED TO BRANDY-IRON HEADQUARTERS ON AUGUST 21, 2137.

RECEIVED BY BRANDY-IRON HEADQUARTERS ON SEPTEMBER 07, 2137.

SUMMARY OF REPORT:

ON AUGUST 16, 2137, WEYLAND-YUTANI CORPORATE EXECUTIVE MARVIN GARFIELD AND TWO BRANDY-IRON MINERS DISAPPEARED INSIDE THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED VESSEL OF EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL ORIGIN. MR. GARFIELD LATER RETURNED TO THE STATION AND SUCCUMBED TO A FATAL GAS-MIXTURE PROBLEM, RESULTING IN LOSS OF SANITY AND EVENTUAL SUICIDE. AFTER ANOTHER INSPECTION OF THE VESSEL WAS PERFORMED, A DANGEROUS GASEOUS MIXTURE WAS FOUND INSIDE. THE MIXTURE WAS INADVERTANTLY BROUGHT BACK INTO THE STATION AND SUBSEQUENTLY CAUSED SEVERAL CREW TO VIOLENTLY ASSAULT ONE ANOTHER, WITH ONLY SIX BRANDY-IRON PERSONNEL AND ONE WEYLAND-YUTANI LIAISON SURVIVING THE ORDEAL. THE SHIP HAS SUBSEQUENTLY BEEN SEALED AND BARRED FROM FURTHER INVESTIGATION UNTIL TAROS STATION #04 CAN COMPLETE ITS ASSIGNED TASK OF RETRIEVING THE AVAILABLE MINERAL ORE IN THE DESIGNATED MINING LOCATION.

MR. GARFIELD'S SURVIVING FAMILY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF HIS PASSING THROUGH WEYLAND-YUTANI REPRESENTATIVES. FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY FOR BOTH MR. GARFIELD AND OTHER BRANDY-IRON PERSONNEL LOST IN THE INCIDENT. NO PERSONNEL ARE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE ALIEN VESSEL UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. ALL BRANDY-IRON STATIONS ARE TO UNDERGO THOROUGH EQUIPMENT AND SITUATIONAL PROCEDURE EVALUATIONS IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS AS A RESPONSE TO THIS INCIDENT.

* * *

BRANDY-IRON COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT SHEET

ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: JULY 15, 2163

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 12, 2164, ONE YEAR FROM NOW, ALL BRANDY-IRON ASSETS AND LOCATIONS WILL BE UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST TEN YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH THE WORLD-DEVELOPING GIANT KNOWN AS WEYLAND-YUTANI. OUR PROFITS HAVE FALLEN, AND MANY OF OUR OPERATIONS HAVE COME TO A HALT OR HAVE BEEN ABANDONED. WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL UNFORTUNATE LAYOFFS IN RECENT MONTHS, AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT FOR OUR COMPANY'S FUTURE... UNTIL NOW. EARLIER THIS MONTH, OUR COMPANY OWNERS MET WITH THOSE OF WEYLAND-YUTANI AND CAME TO AN AGREEMENT FOR WEYLAND-YUTANI TO PURCHASE US, WHILE STILL ALLOWING US TO CONTINUE OPERATING AS AN AUTONOMOUS SUBGROUP WITHIN THEIR COMPANY.

NO PERSONNEL WILL BE LOSING THEIR JOBS, AND ALL RETIREMENT FUNDS AND PENSIONS WILL BE KEPT IN PLACE. THANKS TO THIS ABSORPTION, MANY OF OUR OWN COMPANY SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH THOSE OF WEYLAND-YUTANI ON THEIR NEWLY DEVELOPED ATMOSPHERE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP BUILD BETTER WORLDS FOR HUMANITY AND INCREASE THE BRIGHTNESS OF OUR FUTURE.

THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING, AND REMEMBER OUR SOON-TO-BE NEW SLOGAN: _BUILDING BETTER WORLDS_. IT'S WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE, AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO, JUST UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME.

TAKE CARE.

ENDING THEME: I'd Really Love To See You Tonight, by England Dan and John Ford Coley

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's it for ALIEN: HARD-HEADS. I hope everyone enjoyed the story, and I hope to continue writing more works for all of you in the future. I'm sorry it took so long to release this final chapter, but at least it's finally here.

For those of you wondering what happened to the survivors of Taros Station #04, rest assured that they were not murdered and silenced by Weyland-Yutani. Bowman left WY and applied for work with Brandy-Iron, his decision motivated by learning about just how many other people within the company shared Garfield's knowledge of the xenomorphs, but little of his dormant conscience and willingness to help others.

Burns decided to give Bowman a shot and developed a romantic relationship with him. Elliot was eventually reconnected and had his personality and memories downloaded into a new body, and then he finally shut himself down after another fifteen years because he was obsolete and had finally succumbed to his systems failing. I didn't describe any of this because that's not really important to the story itself. I'm telling all of you this to provide a sense of closure for the surviving characters.

I did originally plan to have Yellow Bill kill off Martin and Torres, but after the whole deleting half the chapter and re-writing it fiasco, I decided to simply have them make the smart decision and stay where it was (relatively) safe. I also initially planned to have Yellow Bill die from having Burns shoot a flare into its mouth and have it burn to death, being, of course, _burned_ by _Burns_ , but, I thought that the electric death would be cooler.

To be honest, the alien's death by electricity was inspired by the death of The Thing from the Howard Hawkes adaptation of John W. Campbell Jr.'s _Who Goes There?_ , aka Howard Hawkes' _THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD_ (1951).

Interesting trivia: Alan Dean Foster, who has written the novelizations of _John Carpenter's THE THING_ (1982), _ALIEN_ (1979) _ALIENS_ (1986), _ALIEN3_ (1992), and now _ALIEN: COVENANT_ (2017), also used to _work_ for John W. Campbell Jr., the very man who wrote _WHO GOES THERE?_

I also hope that you all enjoyed watching Garfield progress from being a Burke-like sleaze to actually being someone willing to sacrifice himself to help others. Again, as stated by others, Weyland-Yutani itself is not wholly evil. There are evil people working within it, and there are also people of questionable morals and ethics who sit at the top, but the company itself is simply a profit-seeking entity that operates on ruthless tactics and questionable ethics, with some obvious criminal negligence here and there.

Ash's orders in ALIEN were not to deliberately kill the human crew of the Nostromo, just to ensure the return of the alien. Now, the crew _was_ considered expendable, but to play devil's advocate, that simply means that their deaths would be seen as an unfortunate side-effect of bringing back a live specimen, not so much a deliberate course of action for Ash to undertake. His decision on how to act on those orders, however, was entirely his own.

The company would have considered their deaths negligible in the grand scheme of things, but I doubt that they would have ordered Ash to deliberately murder them. That was his own interpretation of the orders, which were kept just vague enough for both deniability and confirmation simultaneously. In short, Weyland-Yutani really is no better or worse than your average modern day mega-corporation. They don't deliberately kill their employees, but they don't really care much if they do happen to die either, so long as they make money.

Also, to be honest, I don't see Weyland-Yutani being all that interested in the xenomorph after the events of ALIENS. I mean, if these things can wipe out one of your very costly colonies and cause the destruction of not only some very expensive atmosphere processing stations but also spread uncontrollably, then they probably aren't very profitable. They're actually cost-prohibitive, and that's just bad for business. Weyland-Yutani may place profit before people, but that also means anything that can damage them, like the incident on LV-426, would be something to avoid in the future.

And, for final confirmation, Burns is indeed based on R.J. MacReady from John Carpenter's THE THING (1982).

So, with all that said and done, I hope everyone enjoyed ALIEN: HARD-HEADS. Let me know what you thought of the story in your reviews, and next week will be posting the second chapter of ALIEN: GENESIS. The following week, I'll post the first chapter of ALIENS: EPIDEMIC.


	13. BONUS: ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SEQUENCES

**ALIEN: HARD-HEADS**

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

* * *

 **BONUS CHAPTER: ALTERNATE AND UNUSED MATERIAL**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 01 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 01-A**

 **INSIDE THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE**

Dressed in a grey cargo-pant variation of the standard Brandy-Iron uniform, along with a dark brown flight jacket and a cowboy hat resting on her neck, Alexandra "Alex" Burns let out a sigh as she leaned back in the pilot seat of the main cargo transport's cockpit. Reaching into one of her breast pockets, she pulled out an old picture of herself, a man with black hair, and a young girl. The picture had been taken four years earlier, back when her life had been relatively happier.

Looking at the young girl, a small smile graced Alex's lips, before it became a frown as she looked at the man standing on the other side of the girl. "Cheatin' bastard," Burns growled in contempt for the black-haired man in the picture. She opened up a compartment in the floor and took out a small cooler, opening it to retrieve a bottle of whiskey before twisting off the cap and downing a shot. "What the hell?" she asked rhetorically as she held the bottle up to her lips.

She took a sip of the liquid inside, only to let out an exasperated growl. Her whiskey had been found and replaced with water by someone. She angrily dropped the bottle back into the cooler, letting out a huff of annoyance. "Dammit," she muttered in frustration before getting up from her seat, not caring if anyone found the cooler at this point.

"Son of a _bitch_ ," she spat as she walked out of the cockpit.

 **THE GALLEY**

Ten miners sat around at various tables, having just come back from their shift. The second group of miners had just gone out on the next shift, and so the ten men and women inside the galley were now enjoying their after-work meal. Lining the walls of the galley were several automated food dispensers. Larger facilities with bigger crews and budgets often had an actual cooking staff, while Station #04 was a more modest facility with a crew of just 30 miners and 15 directorial staff, including 4 security officers, the operations director, 2 pilots for transports, a company meteorologist, a company geologist, two physicians, a communications operator, and 3 mechanical engineers or designated maintenance workers.

Much of the bulk work was done by several large drilling machines, piloted and maintained by the miners and the maintenance workers. Larger facilities with larger budgets also had automated machines for mining as well, but they also had more miners to work in areas that the machines were too large and bulky to safely operate inside of until after the miners had cleared them out. The Brandy-Iron company prided itself on rewarding skilled manual labor and remote machine operation equally, touting that its people recognized the values of both worlds.

Unfortunately, while Brandy-Iron had been a giant in the manufacturing of machinery and mining, its biggest competitor, Weyland-Yutani, was quickly gaining ground in that area as well. Unlike Brandy-Iron, Weyland-Yutani was a behemoth, tackling almost all venues from which profit could be drawn, meaning that specialized companies such as Brandy-Iron, Seegson, and others were finding themselves looking at a bleak future. While some companies, such as Seegson, chose to directly compete with Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had chosen the route of selective contractual negotiation with Weyland-Yutani in order to work in similar places while still producing its own product.

As Brandy-Iron had already begun making progress in the Caspron System prior to any arrival or influence from other companies, they were in prime condition to negotiate on their own terms with Weyland-Yutani. All of the equipment and people working on the Taros facilities were from Brandy-Iron, with Weyland-Yutani's only contributions being the paychecks for the materials mined and delivered by Brandy-Iron on the moon and other celestial bodies in the system, and the occasional corporate liaison. The situation was an extremely uncommon inversion of what was seen elsewhere in colonized space, as Weyland-Yutani usually held the upper hand.

As such, all of the miners on the moon of Taros felt relatively safe and comfortable with their jobs, at least as safe as one _could_ feel given the nature of their job. And, unlike Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had a record of always fixing problems found by safety inspectors, even if that meant spending money on something. ' _Workers who know that their employer cares about them won't try to leave for another company_ ,' was the motto often found being espoused by various corporate suits within the company. It was well-known among other companies that Weyland-Yutani often would bribe safety inspectors instead of fixing problems with some of their ships and equipment, especially commercial vessels used for dirty jobs, such as commercial towing ships.

One notable incident, albeit one without any verifiable evidence, occurred in 2122, when a commercial towing ship and an ore refinery disappeared. When inspection materials were found and investigated back on the colony of Thedus, reports made by members of the ship's crew and various inspectors revealed a number of alarming discrepancies in official safety reports, leading most people to believe that the ship was destroyed by a malfunction with the engines, which in turn could have affected the refinery it was towing. While there was no official evidence to support this claim, many people in rival companies used this as an example to shame their competition and make their own employees less willing to leave them for Weyland-Yutani, citing the shrewd and obvious profit-over-people mentality as something to avoid.

But enough about philosophy.

Currently, the first shift miners were enjoying their food while the second shift went out to resume their work. And, stalking past the doors of the galley after several minutes was a disgruntled multi-license vehicle pilot. That she did not reek of booze at all was alarming for some of the workers who sat near the doorways and saw her.

"Was that Burns?" one miner asked the woman sitting next to him. "Looked like her," she said before stuffing the processed work-safe meal into her mouth. The other miner shrugged his shoulders before eating his food.

 **THE RECREATION ROOM**

Standing on one side of a pool table, Head Mechanical Engineer Edgar Rains prepared his cue as he lined up his next shot. "Come on. Just hit the ball already," his assistant, Milo Thurgood, said impatiently. Rains scoffed at Milo's attitude. "Patience, Milo. Patience," Rains said as he carefully prepared to tap the ball with his cue.

Edgar Rains was a man of rather modest musculature and build, standing at 5 feet and 4 inches, with a shaved head, brown eyes, and an earring in his left ear. Milo Thurgood was a very lanky man with curly brown hair, stood at 5 feet and 10 inches, and an entire portion of his upper jaw replaced with dentures. Both men had worked together in the Brandy-Iron company for seven years. Rains was in his forties, while Milo was in his mid-thirties.

Sitting around a circular table near a corner of the room, four people sat around with cards. Vernon Shore, the secondary transport pilot; Samantha Goodwin, the Chief of Security for the station; Jenny Howard, a meteorologist hired by the company; and Carl Brooks, a company geologist. All four of these people were enjoying a card game while they bided their time for something interesting to happen, as the station had not seen anything exciting happen for months.

 **THE MEDICAL LAB**

Chief Medical Officer and Physician Elliot Yulan sat at a computer terminal and looked over the latest test results for the miners as he prepared to add the data to the medical charts in the station's employee medical database. Sleeping on a cot behind him was an injured miner, Jeff Green, who had broken his several hours earlier after slipping on a wet floor.

 **THE MINERS QUARTERS**

Nine miners were sleeping in their bunks, with their alarm clocks getting ready to go off in less than two hours' time so that they could prepare for the third shift.

 **THE SHOWER ROOM**

Anna Torres, the main electronics engineer and computer maintenance worker, was cleaning herself off after fixing the electrical wiring inside a dirty maintenance duct.

 **BACK IN THE OPERATIONS CENTER**

Fred Marcus turned his head when he heard the door slide open. Turning around in his chair, he looked back to see Alexandra Burns approaching him, fuming with a scowl on her face. "Burns? Is something wrong?" Marcus asked her. "Were you in the main transport at all today?" she asked him aggressively.

"Watch your tone, Burns. And no, I wasn't. Elliot was," Marcus replied sternly. "Did you know what he was doing in there?" she asked him. "Yes. He was taking preventative measures again. You've started to regress again in the past month," Marcus said in reply.

"I don't have a problem," Burns snapped. "I said watch your tone," Marcus said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Dammit, Fred! I-" "I said, _watch your tone._ I am your boss, and you will respect me. Is that clear?" Marcus interjected sternly as he stood up and walked in front of her, glaring at her face. Burns looked away ashamedly.

"Look at me and give me an answer, Burns. Do you understand?" Marcus asked her. "Yes... sir," Burns replied reluctantly, looking him in the eyes. "Good. Now, go see Elliot and talk to him about this. He does have training in counseling," Marcus said. Burns sighed in defeat. "Yes, Fred. Where's he at right now?" she asked him.

"He's down in the medical lab with one of the miners. Someone slipped on a wet floor a while ago," Marcus explained. "Right," Burns said, nodding her head before slowly turning around. "Oh, and Burns?" Marcus asked, causing her to pause and look back at him. "You come in here and talk to me like that again... you'll find yourself shipped back to HQ for counseling or license suspension. Am I clear?" Marcus asked her in a firm tone.

"Yes, Fred. Crystal," Burns replied quietly before exiting the room. Martin continued snoring, having remained asleep the entire time. Marcus let out an exasperated sigh. As much as he despised boredom, he'd rather have peace than unruly employees developing drinking problems to pass the time.

 **CHAPTER 01-B**

"Um... I... haven't started that yet," Burns said sheepishly. "Then hop to it," Marcus said sternly, glaring at her. "Yes sir," Burns said before getting up from her seat and walking away, before stopping just at the precipice of the doorway. "Wait, can't Vernon handle the second shuttle?" Burns asked Marcus. "I asked _you_ to do it," Marcus said in response.

Burns sighed in frustration. "Yes, Fred. I'll get right on it," she said in a tired and mildly annoyed tone before exiting the room. Martin looked away from the door and back over to Marcus with a raised eyebrow. "What's her problem?" Martin asked Marcus.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, she's always had an attitude problem," Marcus replied. "Yeah, but... she's really gotta stop skirting the line between flippancy and insubordination like that. She's gonna burn herself one day if she's like that around corporate suits," Martin said in response. "She already did burn herself around a corporate suit once," Marcus said with a smirk.

"And she _still_ acts like this?" Martin asked him. "She used to be a lot worse," Marcus said. "You're kidding," Martin said skeptically. "Nope. Trust me, though, she learned her lesson," Marcus said. Martin raised an eyebrow. "If you say so," the communications operator said in a skeptical fashion.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 03 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 03-A**

"Elliot, please make copies of this for us," Marcus said. Elliot grabbed the paper and made his way back over to the printer before scanning the document and saving an electronic version of it on the computer. He then began the copying process. "God damn it," Garfield muttered under his breath as he watched Elliot perform his task, his sole consolation being that the Engineer ship would soon be in the hands of Weyland-Yutani.

 **ONE HOUR LATER...**

Marcus had called all of the station's personnel to the operations center. Thirty miners and fourteen administrative staff looked at him expectantly, while two Weyland-Yutani employees stared at him, one with contempt, and the other in mild curiosity. "Alright, people. I've called all of you in here because I have an important announcement to make," Marcus said with a grin.

"We're getting bonuses?" one miner, Akiho Yoshida, asked him. Marcus frowned. " _ **WHO TOLD YOU!?**_ " Marcus snapped at her. Yoshida backed off and raised her arms in a defensive manner. "It was... just a guess," she said nervously.

"Oh. Well... yes, but I was hoping to keep that a surprise," Marcus said in a disappointed tone.

 **CHAPTER 03-B**

Seeing that Bowman was still busy choosing his food at the dispenser, Garfield lowered his voice as he whispered to Eastman. " _If you can get me into that blocked area, or someplace else, I can try to increase your bonus,_ " Garfield said, causing Eastman to stop chewing his food and raise an eyebrow cautiously. He swallowed his food and paused before taking another bite as Garfield continued.

" _If I can get a physical sample from that ship to take back, I can secure you a very high-paying contracted position at one of our more prestigious operations. You're a geologist,_ _ **and**_ _you've had field experience as a miner. I can place you on high-paying survey jobs where your experience means that you won't be overshadowed by some pencil pusher who's never set foot inside a cave, with benefits that no one can match_ ," Garfield continued. Eastman glanced around the room, seeing that Bowman was almost finished with his order.

" _Give me some time to think about your offer. Will the kid be coming with us into the mine with us?_ " Eastman asked him quietly. " _I doubt it. He'll probably try to make an excuse to avoid joining us. Take his word and let him go when he does. I'll say something condescending to keep him from getting suspicious,_ " Garfield replied.

" _He... isn't on the same level as you, is he?_ " Eastman asked Garfield. Garfield smiled in response. " _Not even close. He doesn't even know about the company's history of finding these things. He hasn't been in the company long enough,_ " Garfield explained. Eastman saw Bowman making his way back to their table and resumed eating his pizza.

Garfield craned his neck as he heard Bowman approaching him from behind. He looked at the contents of the man's tray, which basically included a bowl of mac & cheese, and an apple.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 04 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 04-A**

The pilot quickly made her way over to the com system, brushing past Garfield and Fairbank. "Hey, Fred," Burns said through her suit into the phone. " _Burns? Burns, please put Mister Garfield on the line,_ " Marcus requested with restrained anger in his voice.

"Sure thing, Fred. Hey, Garfield, get your ass over here," Burns called out. Garfield quickly marched over to the com system. "Hello, Mister Marcus," Garfield said over the com.

" _Hello, Mister Garfield. What happened out there?_ " Marcus asked him pointedly. "We were inspecting the ship," Garfield replied. Marcus remained silent, expecting Garfield to continue. Eventually, Garfield got the hint. "We came across a hole in the floor that was large enough to fit through, and Eastman went down to explore it," Garfield continued.

" _What did he find?_ " Marcus asked him.

"Well... he told us that he had entered some kind of chamber. He said that there were several trenches in it with egg-like objects covered by some kind of blue mist or something," Garfield explained. "He lost his flashlight in one of the trenches and attempted to retrieve it, and then... I don't know what happened. We heard him panicking after a few minutes, and when he tried to climb back up, his tow line must have gotten caught on something and he fell back down, which is when... this thing attacked him," Garfield explained.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 05 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 05-A**

 **THE GUEST QUARTERS**

Carefully checking to make sure that no one else was around, Marvin Garfield removed his laptop from his suitcase and retrieved the external battery and power adapter. Checking for an appropriate power plug in the wall, Garfield assembled the power supply and external battery before hooking them up to the laptop and powering it on. He set the laptop on a turned-over red plastic milk crate.

Booting up the small computer, Garfield searched for a networking port to connect his laptop to the station's system with. Finding one that had a rubber plug in it, he removed the cap and connected his own network cable between the laptop and the wall-port. Taking a zip-lock bag out of his suitcase, Garfield unzipped it and retrieved a folded piece of paper.

Reading the network codes on the paper, he waited until his machine had reached the login screen before accessing the OS. It was a proprietary corporate operating system on the laptop, albeit one of the fancier personal ones that were used in offices on colonized planets, unlike the more basic and ergonomic operating systems seen throughout industrial workplaces found in ships and on space stations.

Reading the network codes on the paper, Garfield soon accessed the network link for the Malvo orbital supply station.

 **CHAPTER 05-B**

 **THE GUEST QUARTERS**

Carefully checking to make sure that no one else was around, Marvin Garfield removed his laptop from his suitcase and retrieved the external battery and power adapter. Checking for an appropriate power plug in the wall, Garfield assembled the power supply and external battery before hooking them up to the laptop and powering it on. He set the laptop on a turned-over red plastic milk crate.

Booting up the small computer, Garfield soon logged in and opened a window before accessing the window properties menu. He unchecked the box that hid specified folders and files, and then quickly accessed a formerly-hidden folder. He double-clicked on the folder named WYARCHIVEXXX121 and opened it.

Inside the folder were several files regarding all currently known information collected on the organism known as Xenomorph-XX121. Opening the file called LifeCycle, Garfield read through the detailed statements on the first stages of the life cycle in order to confirm what he already knew about the facehugger and the eggs. His real interest, however, was regarding how to handle the next phase of the organism's life cycle.

 **CHAPTER 05-C**

 **THE RECREATION ROOM**

Marvin Garfield looked down at the holographic chess board in front of him. He was currently playing against the computer itself, and it was winning. He moved one of his remaining pawns forward, only to have a knight take it. He frowned as he moved his king one space, only for the computer's bishop to move forward next and trap him.

"YOU ARE IN CHECK," the machine said. Garfield frowned and looked down at the board, scanning for possible escape routes. He knew, right then, that he was fucked.

"Fuck you, you piece of shit," Garfield spat as he turned off the machine and walked away.

 **CHAPTER 05-D**

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE...**

Burns looked down at the panel in front of her as Anna Torres checked the cables inside. "Mm, yeah. Everything here looks good," Torres said before closing the access panel and moving on to the next one. Bruns handed her a cable checker as she began unplugging certain wires and inserting them into the device. Burns watched as Torres began running another cycle of tests on the next batch of cables, one wire at a time.

Checking her watch, which had been adjusted for the moon's orbital rotation and size relative to the nearby colony planet, Burns saw that two hours had passed since they had begun the physical manual inspection phase. "So... how many of these wire-checking devices do you have? You know, in case one breaks or gets lost?" Burns asked Torres. Torres glanced up at Burns, who was standing over her.

"Mm... I think I have about-I guess-uh... nine more?" Torres said, somewhat uncertain. Burns blinked at her in surprise. "Nine... _more?_ " Burns asked her curiously, surprised.

"I think so, although one of them _did_ stop working a while back. So, I have eight more _functioning_ cable testers," Torres said before she returned her attention to the device in her hands. Burns nodded her head in thoughtful consideration.

"That's a lot of spares," Burns said. Torres nodded her head in agreement as she kept her eyes on the small device in her hands. She soon unplugged the first few wires and then re-inserted them back where she had unplugged them before inserting a new selection of wires into the device.

"So... um, are all of you wire or cable testers made by the same company? Do ones from different companies have different functions, or do they all pretty much work the same?" Burns asked the computer technician. Torres glanced up at Burns with an expression of minor annoyance on her face.

"Well?" Burns asked her curiously. Torres raised an eyebrow at the pilot before glancing back down at the device in her hands. The device was almost finished testing the wires. Torres let out a sigh of annoyance as she glanced back up at Burns.

"Look, Burns, I'd be glad to talk about this at a later time, but I really need to focus. If I miss a single bad wire during this test, it could have disastrous consequences for the shuttle. It could easily affect the rest of the systems and components that we need to test later on," Torres responded with a warning tone in her voice.

"Look, I'm just curious is all," Burns said in response. Torres gave Burns a disbelieving look in response before she removed the wires from the device and re-insterted them where she had originally pulled them. Before moving on to the next batch inside the panel, an idea occurred to Torres.

"Burns, why don't I teach you how to use this?" Torres suggested.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 06 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 06-A**

Looking down at the tray, Marcus frowned. "I think we should throw it out of an airlock," Goodwin said with a frown. Marcus raised an eyebrow as he glanced up at her. "Not so fast, Antsy Nancy," Marcus quipped.

"We could use this," Marcus added. Goodwin looked at him incredulously. "Use it? For _what?_ " she asked him skeptically.

"I'll bet you anything that Weyland-Yutani would pay us extra to get their hands on this thing," Marcus said.

"Oh, come _on!_ " Goodwin retorted. "That's a load of crap, Fred. Besides, Fairbank and Garfield said that they both saw trenches full of eggs down in that ship. Once Weyland-Yutani gets their hands on the ship, they'll have access to all of those things in there. You'll have nothing to negotiate with," she finished.

"Not if we destroy the rest of them," Marcus said.

Goodwin blinked in confusion. "I-I'm sorry. Say that again," she requested, dumbfounded.

"We can destroy them. I mean, we may need to do that anyway, given what we've seen one of them do so far," Marcus said. Goodwin stared at him blankly for a minute.

 **CHAPTER 06-B**

Turning his head to look at the three miners and one geologist, Marcus took note of how Fairbank was holding his head in his hands and muttering to himself. "Hey, Lewis? You doing okay there?" Marcus asked the miner as he approached him. Fairbank was sitting on an exam table while the others were sitting in chairs, with Elliot digging through a drawer for something.

"That's how it works," Fairbank said. "Huh?" Marcus asked him as he stepped closer. "They turned them into eggs. Then they hatch and turn others into monsters. They turned them into monsters. They turned them into monsters," Fairbank repeated.

Marcus raised an eyebrow in confusion. He glanced back over at the others. "What the hell's he talkin' about?" Marcus asked them.

"We found the... remains of the ship's crew," Green said as he clasped his hands together. Marcus widened his eyes in surprise. "Well... I wasn't expecting that," he muttered to himself.

"We found one of them... half-way transformed into an egg... we think. It could have just as easily been a poorly preserved cocoon as well," Brooks stated. "No, that was an egg," Hoffman said firmly.

"Wait a minute. Just... hold on a minute. Eggs? Like the ones that the facehugger came from?" Marcus asked them. "Uh, _yeah_ ," Hoffman replied.

"Did you guys record any of this?" Marcus asked them. "We didn't use the suits with cameras," Brooks said regretfully. "I get _you guys_ not using those suits, but-no, never mind. So, um, you were saying about the eggs?" Marcus responded curiously.

"We found a room that had four dead humanoids in it. One was... either cocooned or being converted into an egg, possibly, while attached to the wall," Brooks relayed, still disturbed by what he had seen, albeit not to the same degree as Fairbank.

"And you guys all saw this as well?" Marcus asked Green and Hoffman. "Yeah, we saw it. Why do you think Fairbank is having a breakdown?" Hoffman replied as he jerked his thumb in the direction of the third miner, who was now being given a mild sedative by Elliot.

"Elliot, that'd better not knock him out," Marcus warned. "I need him functional, not asleep," he added. "I know, Marcus. I know. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Elliot said with a nod of his head as he inserted the needle into Fairbank's outstretched arm.

Marcus then turned his attention back to the three men in the chairs. "Okay, did you bring the scanning probes back or did you leave them in the ship?" he asked them. "We left them in the ship," Brooks replied.

"Now, did you turn them off?" Marcus asked them.

"Yes. To save on power," Brooks replied.

 **CHAPTER 06-C**

"Well... maybe this will help calm you down. The facehugger removed itself from Eastman and died some time ago," Marcus said. This got the men's attention.

"Is he awake?" Hoffman asked. "No. He's still in a coma," Marcus replied, with Elliot walking up behind him. "Marcus? I need to talk to you for a minute," Elliot said, gesturing for Marcus to follow him over to the physician's desk.

"Look, I know that you might want some kind of good news to cheer everyone up, but I still need to run tests on Eastman and the alien. I still don't know why it removed itself, and I have to check Eastman's blood to see what happened to the sedative and find out why he's still breathing," Elliot said to him. "Please, try to keep your voice down about his... 'recovery' if you will. At least until he wakes up or after I've run the tests," Elliot asked of him.

"Alright. I'll make sure that these guys keep quiet too," Marcus said before walking back over to the others.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 07 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 07-A**

This time, Elliot spoke up. "It was... some kind of... embryo that had been planted inside of him by the facehugger," the droid said carefully. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"Gee, maybe we should have frozen Eastman like I'd suggested earlier, huh?" Garfield remarked bitterly. "I mean, at least then we could have found a way to inspect him before it... hatched or erupted. Maybe we could've saved him," Garfield added.

 **CHAPTER 07-B**

"Yeah. Yeah, if we find it soon enough, we can shoot it with rubber bullets and kill it without the risk of spilling its blood," Burns said, leaning back against a recently-cleaned spot on the wall. "Bring a shotgun for me," she requested.

"Do you have a license to use a firearm?" Goodwin asked her. "Yes," Burns replied. "I have firearms training. I used to be a military pilot," she explained. "Colonial Marines?" Bowman asked her. "Pfft, hell no. Colonial Army," Burns replied. "Show me the license and proof of training, and I'll get you one,"

* * *

 **CHAPTER 08 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 08-A**

 **TAROS STATION, LEVEL 03...**

Inside a small corner of a somewhat spacious labyrinth of a room, Yellow Bill, a seven foot tall biomechanical nightmare, slowly stood up from its resting position and walked through the various narrow walkways between the cubicles that were used by the residents of the station.

Yellow Bill lifted its head up towards the ceiling before lowering it and stalking forward. It aimed its shiny domed head at the cubicle door it had stopped in front of, tilting it to the side before reaching and arm forward and running a six-fingered hand down the wall. It soon reached the door controls and "glanced" down at them.

Tentatively, Yellow Bill pressed a button on the panel and waited for the door to slide open. Letting out a breath and sniffing the air in curiosity through its mouth, Yellow Bill stepped into the cubicle quietly bobbing its head up and down and left and right as it explored the contents of the room. Yellow Bill, as with all Xenomorphs from its particular strain, was a more advanced version of the basic monstrosity that had been developed by the beings known as Engineers.

With yellow stripes running down its back, the largest stripes above, between, and below its four dorsal tubes and dorsal spine, Yellow Bill was easily identifiable out in the open, but dangerously camouflaged when inside a dark and industrial environment, an environment that the Engineers realized humanity would eventually begin producing over the course of its civilization.

Stepping towards the nearest bed, Yellow Bill knelt down and reached for the covers before pulling them off the bed, leaning down to check under the bunk for signs of life. After confirming that there were no prey hiding under the bed, Yellow Bill stood back up and turned around, leaving the room. Yellow Bill, having learned from a previous journey into another room, waited until its tail was safely in the corridor before pressing the button to close the door again.

The creature soon began the same investigation again, one dorm cubicle at a time, before stopping in the corridor after the third room. It lifted its head up and and began walking over to the dorm's exit, walking over to an open hatch for a maintenance shaft. It paused before climbing inside, and soon began making its way through the lowest level of the station, hunting for more prey.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 09 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 09-A**

 **SOMEWHERE ON LEVEL 03...**

Fred Marcus opened his eyes and looked around the room he was in. There was a strange resin-like substance covering him, and he was attached to the wall. He tried to shift himself around in the resin cocoon, until he heard a strange noise nearby. Looking up, Marcus saw Goodwin on the wall opposite of him, also encased in a secreted resin-like substance. Unlike himself, however, Goodwin had a hole in her head, and her cocoon was more pronounced in shape, appearing... just like one of the giants found inside the ship.

Marcus looked around the rest of the room, seeing that the resin was covering a great deal of the walls, creating an organic look to the place. Looking nearby, Marcus then saw another cocoon, this one also similar to Goodwin's, only much further along in its development. "Hoffman," Marcus whispered in dismay as he saw the egg-like resin covering up most of the man's torso. There was a hole in Hoffman's head as well.

 _Fairbank was right_ , Marcus thought to himself. _These things turned that ship's crew into eggs, and that giant on the wall... oh, please no!_ Marcus soon began to panic as he realized the fate that the alien had in store for him. He also soon realized that the alien had left the net around him, making it almost impossible for him to move around and escape. Marcus gulped as he realized that he was trapped with no way out.

 **CHAPTER 09-B**

"He's got a point," Garfield said. "Alright. Elliot will be the bait if we go with the airlock trap. While _I_ will be the bait if we go with the maintenance garage," Burns said as a compromise. "Is that acceptable to you?" she asked the droid.

"Fair enough," Elliot said reluctantly. Burns nodded her head at him. "Good," Burns said.

"Wait," Bowman started, "I thought Elliot was the second-in-command. Shouldn't he be the one giving the orders?" Elliot raised an eyebrow before smirking at Burns. "Oh, god _dammit_ , Bowman! You just _had_ to open your mouth," Burns spat at him.

"S-Sorry," Bowman stuttered apologetically.

 **CHAPTER 09-C**

Burns scrunched her face in confusion. "What are you waiting for?" she asked it quietly. "Come on. I'm right here," she said as she fiddled with the safety of the weapon. She quickly squeezed the trigger to produce a click, and promptly feigned surprise and fear as she backed away further.

This seemed to do the trick as Yellow Bill stepped forward again, curling its lips and baring its teeth at Burns. Burns steadied her breath as the alien moved towards her, carefully switching the safety off again and waiting for it to fully enter the room. The alien soon stopped moving again, moving its head around curiously as it let out a hiss and a huff, before aiming its head at Burns again. It closed its lips and backed away from her.

"You dirty son of a bitch," Burns growled at Yellow Bill as she slowly sat up and began to stand her ground. She then glanced over at Brown and Kendricks. "Do it! Don't let it leave the room!" she shouted. Kendricks stood up and aimed his shotgun at the beast.

Yellow Bill quickly spun around and dashed out of the room before Kendricks could fire. "No!" Burns exclaimed in anger and frustration. "Get back here!" she shouted.

 **CHAPTER 09-D**

Burns quickly tapped her headset. "Hansen, this is Burns. Please respond, over," Burns said into the headset. " _This is Hansen. I saw the security feed. Listen, you guys need to get out of there. I've already called Elliot's team back,_ " Hansen said over the headset.

"No, Hansen. If you can track this thing on the cameras, then we can find and rescue Kendricks and the others," Burns retorted. " _Burns, I've lost the feed from three security cameras,_ " Hansen said. Burns paused and shook her head.

"What?" Burns asked Hansen. " _I don't know if it's doing it on purpose or by accident, but the alien has taken out three security cameras on that level. I can't-shit! I just lost another one,_ " Hansen hissed over the headset.

"Where? Which camera did you lose?" Burns asked him. " _What? Burns, I-_ " "Which camera!?" she asked him forcefully. " _Three-D-Zero-Three. Burns, just retreat to the elevators and get back to a higher level_ ," Hansen pleaded.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 10-A**

" _Guys?_ " Hansen asked over a radio on the table. "Yes, Hansen. What is it?" Burns asked as she grabbed the radio. " _I'm starting to lose more cameras on level three,_ " Hansen reported.

"Are you sure?" Burns asked him incredulously. " _Look, I'm positive. The alien is taking them out one by one. We're not gonna have_ _ **any**_ _video on that floor soon. Either you guys need to come up with a plan to kill it before it gets all of the cameras, or you're gonna have to find another way to get into that level, because without any cameras watching the elevators, I won't be able to tell which ones it's waiting at,_ " Hansen replied.

"Shit!" Burns hissed angrily. "We should've stayed down there when we had the chance," she added bitterly. "W-What?" Bowman asked her incredulously. "We should have... stay-are you out of your fucking mind!? I mean, have you already _forgotten_ what happened to Brown!?" he asked her.

"Bowman, if we had stayed down there, then we wouldn't have to worry about this thing waiting in front of an elevator without cameras to watch for it," Burns explained. Elliot and Garfield both silently nodded their heads in agreement with Burns' statement, while everyone else was rather... skeptical. "This is horse shit," Milo muttered under his breath.

"Amen," Rains said in agreement.

"Garfield, have any other recorded aliens displayed this kind of behavior?" Burns quickly asked the man. "I don't recall seeing anything like that described in the reports. Maybe, but nothing that I can remember," Garfield said.

"He's telling the truth. All of the recorded encounters describe xenomorphs differently than this one. Not just in behavior, but also in appearance," Elliot said as he continued scrolling through the data on Garfield's company laptop. "It seems that our black and yellow friend, courtesy of Green's testimony earlier, is unique among theses things," Elliot added.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rains asked him uneasily. Elliot turned to look at the mechanic. "Well, according to data on Mister Garfield's computer, all previously encountered xenomorphs have been grey, black, brown, or some variation thereof. This one, having a very distinct color scheme, is not something that has been recorded in prior encounters, at least not those found on this machine," Elliot relayed.

"So... this might be a different sub-species? Or... what?" Garfield asked him, having forgotten about Green's rather brief testimony regarding the appearance of the Xenomorph some hours earlier, shortly after Goodwin's death. Elliot looked at him and nodded his head. "I believe so. What we're dealing with isn't like the other recorded encounters. We have a whole different breed on our hands," Elliot said.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 11-A**

"Uh? Huh?" Marcus asked groggily as he looked around. Marcus glanced over to his right and looked at the Hoffman-Egg, grimacing in realization of his fate before he noticed Garfield and Elliot. "E-Elliot? Garfield?" Marcus asked, confused by their presence.

"W-What are you doing here?" Marcus asked them. "We're, uh, looking for the alien," Garfield replied. "Yellow Bill?" Marcus asked. Garfield and Elliot both looked at Marcus questioningly.

"Y-Yellow... Bill?" Garfield asked Marcus in confusion. "That's... my name for it," Marcus said. "It... sounds kind of stupid now that I think about it," Marcus said sheepishly. "I guess Bill Junior would've been more appropriate," he added.

 **CHAPTER 11-B**

"Then don't waste your time with me," Marcus said tiredly. "No way. We've found you, and we don't know how long it'll take before that egg over there-wait, was that... _Hoffman?_ " Garfield asked as he took a closer look at the developing egg. "It _was_ ," Marcus replied somberly, glancing at the Hoffman-Egg with an expression of dismay on his face.

"Well, we don't know how long we have before that thing is done growing. By the time we get back, that thing could hatch, and you'll be a host for another xenomorph," Garfield said, causing Marcus to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Xeno...what?" Marcus asked him.

"Xenomorph. It's the name of the life form," Elliot explained as he placed his hands on the resin trapping Marcus's arms and prepared to pull. "How do you know any of this?" Marcus asked him, confused and slightly disoriented.

"The Weyland-Yutani company has a secret record of encounters with these things. Garfield here knew about this thing from the start," Elliot explained.

 **CHAPTER 11-C**

Yellow Bill let out what sounded like a defiant and victorious squeal before it dropped Elliot's arm and placed both hands around the droid's neck, twisting it and snapping it off of his body, spilling white fluid everywhere, spraying it onto Marcus's face and the walls. Yellow Bill's front was covered in android pressure fluid, or blood, and it gently ran its right hand up its body to collect the fluid onto its finger tips. Yellow Bill then brought its white fluid-coated finger tips up to its lips and opened its mouth to let its inner jaw gently tap against them.

It quickly spat out the fluid and walked over to Marcus, rubbing its hands in his hair and on his face to clean them. Marcus grimaced and spat out the liquid that got into his mouth in disgust. "Oh, god! That's disgusting," Marcus groaned in disgust.

"Pfft!" Elliot vocalized from where his head had been deposited on the floor. "At least _your_ head is still attached to your body," Elliot said with a frown, his spare vocal circuits coming online. Of course, without being attached to his artificial larynx, his voice was now very robotic in tone and far less organic sounding than it had been just a minute earlier.

 **CHAPTER 11-D**

Falling onto his back, Garfield cried out in surprise and pain before rolling over and raising a hand to rub the back of his head. He looked down at the floor where he had slipped and saw some kind of slime on the bottom of his shoes. "Son of a bitch," he muttered as he slowly got up and began to turn around.

His progress was halted when a black six-fingered hand slammed into his face and sent him stumbling back. "Gyahh!" Garfield cried out as Yellow Bill stepped forward, its domed head angled so that he could see the ridged structure underneath it. Backing up against the wall, Garfield quickly raised his hands and balled them into fists.

"Burns... I can't make it," Garfield said into his headset. " _Why?_ " she asked him. "It won't let me get there," Garfield answered as Yellow Bill raised its head and curled its lips into a snarl. It took another step forward, its tail swaying on the floor behind it. "Burns... I'm sorry. For everything that's happened here because of me," Garfield said with a gulp.

" _Where's Elliot?_ " Burns asked him. "I don't know, but I don't think he's in better shape than I am right now," Garfield said as he took in the sight of the white liquid splattered on the Xenomorph's front side. Garfield then tapped the headset and took it off before taking a deep breath to prepare himself.

He was alone. He was afraid. He was probably going to die. But most importantly, he was going to do whatever was necessary to fix the mess that he had helped create, even if it cost him his life, however much he hated to think about it.

"I wonder if you remember me?" Garfield asked the Xenomorph as he looked at his still-bandaged right hand. Yellow Bill, aside from a single hiss, remained silent as it took another step forward. "Come on," he said with a gulp. "Let's dance."

 **CHAPTER 11-E**

"Do either of you have a motion tracker with you? Would you know where it is?" Burns asked them. " _Shit. No, we don't,_ " Rains admitted over the headset. "Then stay put. I'll-oh no," Burns said as she turned to look at the monitors. "Rains! Milo! Get your asses in gear! It's in the room with you!" Burns shouted as she saw the camera feed for the maintenance garage go dark.

She quickly limped out of the security center as fast as she could, with Bowman and Hansen both close behind. "Burns, wait!" Bowman called out as he caught up with her. "By the time you get a suit on and get in the airlock-" "I'm not using the airlock! Hansen, unlock one of the elevators!" Burns snapped as she

 **THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE...**

"Shoot it!" Rains said as he aimed his shotgun at the black and yellow alien crawling along the wall. The creature had entered the room using one of the maintenance shafts. "I don't have my ear plugs in! I don't wanna go deaf!" Milo yelled out.

Rains looked at his subordinate and pulled out a pair of ear-plugs as he waited for Milo to do the same. "Alright, game time!" Rains said as he re-aimed his shotgun at the wall, only to see that the alien had disappeared. "Did you see where it went?" he asked Milo.

"No," Milo said as he walked over to Rains. Both men look up at the parked shuttle that was still on its maintenance pad. "Son of a bitch," Rains muttered as he backed up, scanning the room for signs of the alien.

"We can do this," Rains said. "We can do this. We have the guns. We have the floors. We can kill it," he reiterated firmly.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12 ALTERNATE AND UNUSED SCENES**

 **CHAPTER 12-A**

A coughing sound soon drew Burns and Bowman's attention from the others. Looking down at the floor, the duo saw Elliot looking up at them, his head lying on its side. "So... if you're all here, I take it the plan succeeded?" Elliot asked hopefully.

"We hope so. We'll be leaving to go inspect the maintenance garage soon," Burns replied, slightly put off by the sight of Elliot's decapitated head. "By all means, don't let me stop you," Elliot commented. His voice was more monotone than before, and slightly more hoarse, with more synthetic undertones to it, now that his head was no longer attached to his body and his other vocalization systems.

Looking around at the rest of Elliot's dismembered limbs, Burns grimaced. "Not a pretty sight, is it?" Elliot asked her as he noticed where she was looking. Burns looked back at his head and shook her own in response.

"Looks like you're gonna need more than a few stitches after this mess," Burns said in attempt at humor. Elliot forced his gaze away from Burns before looking back at her. "Burns, I don't... I think I've reached the end of the line," Elliot said somberly.

Burns' eyes widened. "What!? That's horseshit!" Burns spat. Elliot looked up at her with a mournful expression. "Burns, look at me," Elliot said. "The damage to my body is too extensive. It's too severe."

* * *

Author's Notes: These were all of the alternate, deleted, and expanded scenes that I had planned but eventually removed from the story. I originally wanted Burns to have a military background, but I changed my mind halfway through the story because I felt that it conflicted with the blue-collar vibe that I wanted the miners to give off. As with the first ALIEN, Hard Heads is a story about mostly ordinary working people dealing with something out of the ordinary.

As you can tell, this story went through quite a few changes before the final chapter had been posted. Also, I _had_ originally planned for Burns to sing along with the Weed, Whites  & Wine song that One Night sang in The Abyss but I felt it would be too similar. And, of course, I originally planned to make Burns a mother who had lost custody of her daughter. I changed this because I realized that this aspect made her far too similar to Ellen Ripley. I know that it's common to say that the strong female protagonist is ' _The Ripley_ ' of the story, but I wanted to make Burns more like a female R.J. MacReady from The Thing than an Ellen Ripley clone. In the end, she's a bit of an amalgamation of both characters, although I deliberately wrote her to take more after MacReady than Ripley.

I had also originally planned for the battle between Rains, Milo, and Yellow Bill to be described in greater detail, but I felt that it worked better being heard by Burns over her headset. This was also inspired by a scene cut from the original ALIEN where Parker attempted to blow the alien out of the Nostromo's main airlock before needing to be rescued by Lambert and Ripley after the plan went awry. All of the action involving Parker and the alien is relayed through the ship's comm systems, along with Ripley's rescue of Parker while Lambert listens in.

For a sequence that I had planned but never wrote, I initially planned on having Garfield die by attempting to trap Yellow Bill in an airlock so that he could capture the creature alive and take it back to company labs for study. Garfield would try to lure the creature into the airlock using food taken from one of the storage rooms, only for Yellow Bill to wise up and attack Garfield before dragging him off to the nest, where he would end up being face-hugged next to another facehugger victim, Marcus.

Kendricks was also planned to be face-hugged as well, but since I had already planned on Marcus getting face-hugged, and since Kendricks has less dialogue and presence in the story than Marcus, I decided to simply make Marcus the sole victim of the hive egg. It increased the dramatic impact, in my opinion, since Marcus was focused on heavily earlier in the story. Kendricks is simply someone in the background most of the time.

Another unused death was for Hansen as he and the others tried to trap Yellow Bill in an airlock, only for Yellow Bill to get the jump on the team and accidentally open the hatches with an unsuited Hansen inside. Hansen would then get sucked out into space, while Milo would get sucked into the airlock and get bisected when the doors closed again. I ended up heavily reworking this idea into the sequence where Fairchild dies.

Another final battle sequence that I had fantasized about was one where Burns would attempt to use the airlocks to travel around the station unnoticed by Yellow Bill, only to encounter the creature outside. She would then try to fight the creature off with her shotgun before retreating back into an airlock and delivering the final blow as Yellow Bill stopped the airlock from closing to enter it, only for Burns to circumvent the security systems and open the inner hatch, letting the force of the oncoming air and debris push Yellow Bill back from the airlock and give her a chance to shoot it from a safe distance. I never found a suitable way to incorporate this scene after giving Burns her leg injury, so I decided to let go. The sequence was heavily influenced by the final battle from OUTLAND (1981).

I had also initially planned to have Elliot die after being ripped apart by Yellow Bill, as you can tell from the final alternate scene.

In another bit of trivia the Brandy-Iron company name is inspired by the Brandy-Wine production company associated with all of the ALIEN movies.

For the sequences that involved Yellow Bill exploring the station and learning things on its own, I cut those because the more I detailed the alien by itself, the less scary and mysterious it became for me as I previewed the chapters. It also gave away the surprise that Yellow Bill is a thinking creature, something that I wanted you, the readers, to discover alongside the human characters in the story. While I did end up detailing more of Yellow Bill later on near the end, I decided that following the JAWS approach, i.e. less is more, seemed to be the best route early on, before the action sequences kicked in and there was no longer any need to really shy away from describing Yellow Bill anymore.

I also _did_ plan on having the characters use flamethrowers early on, but I eventually decided that it would just make things too similar to both ALIEN _and_ THE THING, and I'd already included enough references to John Carpenter's masterpiece simply with the character of Burns and portions of her dialogue. I also decided against using flamethrowers because I wanted something that would set the story apart from nearly all other ALIEN fan fiction stories. Come on, how many stories _don't_ use flamethrowers or fire against the alien(s) in some way? While I _did_ use fire briefly, it was a result of an accident within the story itself and not a deliberate usage by the characters.

Also, as some of you have noticed, I've included various references to non-Alien films and books as well in the story. There are bits of dialogue taken straight from John Carpenter's Big Trouble In Little China (1986), character backgrounds inspired by the plot of Blade Runner (1982), Various overarching plot and background detail references to OUTLAND (1981), and the already-mentioned Abyss and The Thing references. Oh, and that one reference to those Where's Waldo books in chapter 12.

In one final bit of trivia, the black and yellow color scheme for Yellow Bill, which I had previous said was meant to be industrial, had one other influential source. See, there's this move from 1989 about a mentally disturbed vigilante (played by Michael Keaton) who beats up criminals at night while dressed like a fucking bat. He fights another deranged lunatic who's played by Jack Nicholson. I am, of course, talking about Tim Burton's BATMAN (1989). The color scheme for Yellow Bill, while still deliberately industrial, was also influenced by the color scheme of the 1989 Batman costume. I just really dig that suit and the color aesthetic. Also, the atmosphere processor and hive set pieces from ALIENS were re-used by the crew of BATMAN for the set of the Axis chemical plant.

So, with all of that out of the way, I hope that everyone enjoyed HARD HEADS, and I hope you were all entertained. Let me know what you thought of these sequences in your reviews.


End file.
